Pokemon Divine Legacy Book 6: Judgment of the Fathers pt 1
by Maximus Prime 802
Summary: The final battle has begun. The Palace of Light is within Dawn's grasp, but she is within Giratina's grasp. She will discover secrets of her own past that will change what she thinks about herself that will change who she thinks she is. But who is safe, when gods go to war.


**age Pokémon Divine Legacy**

**Book 6: Judgment of the Fathers Pt 1**

**Prologue**

For the last five months, Giratina continually sent Antimon into the Pokémon World, under the command of his fierce warriors Darkrai and Kyurem, with only one goal, find the Guardian Priestess and bring her before him. Continually they failed him, even after he evolved them into Legendary Antimon, this was not enough for her growing powers. Despite their failures, Giratina was not dissatisfied with them.

These were battles, not the war. The battle with his father was inevitable, whether they face in his world or the Pokémon World. The lord of the void knew this was destined to happened and spent a thousand years planning to tip the conflict in his favor. A thousand years he spent alone in this endless void that he used to call home. A thousand years he watched the world his father created and watched him put more care into them than his own son. A thousand years he nursed hatred for his father and craved to destroy all his nemesis loved.

"The time draws near" Giratina said to himself as he flew towards the Mega Crystal, "My children have performed as I expected, but their hunger for destruction is far from quenched."

Giratina hovered around the Mega Crystal. In its reflective surface he saw the Guardian Priestess and her Sacred Knight guardians still aboard the yacht at sea. Clearly they were struggling to deduce the final riddle, but in time they would uncover its secrets and reveal the Citadel built by god to the world.

"A thousand years of waiting will soon prove its worth." Giratina continued, "My shadows will be cast over their world, and light will never pierce it, not again."

The Renegade Pokémon flew into the cavern of the Antimon and glared at a hieroglyph of his father, Arceus. The hieroglyph was laced with scratches and claw marks, a symbol of his undying hatred for the very creature that gave him and his brothers life. To look at even an image of Arceus filled him with violent rage that caused him to lash out at the very image of his father. Before obliterating the hieroglyph with a devastating Dragon Pulse, Giratina had one final thing to say.

"My children are ready for war, are yours father?"

**Chapter 1**

** May's Log entry 4:**

_ After meeting with Lyra, we headed out to sea on Princess Salvia's yacht, only to be attacked by Kyurem while we were at sea. Red then took Dawn, Ash and Lyra down to the bottom of the sea where they got the final riddle and it revealed that the Palace of Light is in Pallet Town._

"Wait a minute, how can a palace made by the gods be in such a small town and never be noticed by anyone?" Lyra asked out loud.

"Well, Pallet Town has some very dense forests in Professor Oak's Ranch, maybe it's there." Max assumed.

"Maybe it's invisible like the monuments." Brock theorized.

"No way, I've been all over Pallet Town, I would've ran into it at one time, even if it was invisible." Ash protested.

"We'll find it once we get there." Red ended the conversation, "Time is not on our side and we have to find it as soon as possible."

"Red's right, we're so close to ending this, we can't let anything hold us back." Dawn explained.

"Then Brock, set a course for Pallet Town docks." May instructed the Pokémon Doctor joyfully.

"You've got it." Brock responded as he walked back to the navigator's room and turned the boat.

"We'll be in Pallet Town by this time tomorrow." Brock assured over the PA system of the yacht.

"Once we get there, you have to take the yacht around the Kanto Region and gather as many Trainers as you can." Red ordered Princess Salvia, "If Giratina's building an army, then so should we."

The boat turned its course and began its short voyage to the southern coast of the Kanto Region. For once it would arrive, the seven Trainers would end their search for the Palace of Light, awaken the god of everything, begin the climactic battle between good and evil and their quest would finally come to its end.

From inside the storage closet, the Trainers' three captives heard every word of their conversation through the key hole in the door. From the location of the Palace of Light, to Lyra's secret they got every word and began formulating their devious plan.

"So, the Palace has been under our noses this whole time." Meowth remarked.

"Now that we know where it is, let's bust out and find it for ourselves." James offered.

"If we do then the scary twerp will fry us like calamari." Jessie warned.

"Uh, normally you don't fry calamari." James corrected.

"Whatever!" Jessie spat back, "We'll wait until we arrive in Pallet Town then we'll escape and find it for ourselves."

"Then we wait for the blue haired twerp to wake up Arceus and once he and Giratina start to tussle, then we catch 'em both." Meowth concluded.

"Just outside that door is our big score." The trio chanted in unison, once again accidently whining.

**Chapter 2**

The night sky cast over them much quicker than they thought. Regardless of how quickly the night fell, the passengers of the yacht decided to take this night to rest. If the final battle would truly come, then they and their Pokémon would have to be in prime battling condition, something that could only come through sleep.

No matter how hard he tried, Red could not fall asleep. His reason was shrouded in mystery to anyone who observed him, he was more than comfortable in his bed, he had more than enough to eat at dinner and for the first time in a long time and his expression made it seem as though he had no fearful thoughts plaguing his mind, however appearances can be deceiving. The Pokémon Master finally decided that if he couldn't sleep then he wouldn't.

Red climbed out of his bed and stepped out of his room. Carefully he creped down the hall as not to alert the others. He felt like what he needed was some fresh oceanic air to calm himself down before returning to his queen sized bed.

No matter how gently he moved down the hall, his nervous aura alerted a sleeping Dawn and she awoke from her slumber. Still lying in her bed, she looked through her door, open a crack, and saw Red walk down the hall. Silent as an Ekans in the dark of night, Dawn snuck out of bed and watched Red disappear down the hall before following him. The young Priestess used her powers to sense his own aura gifts to see where he travelled on the boat.

Following what her powers told her, Dawn found Red, standing at the bow of the boat, looking at the night sky. The moon was full, as it was for the last several months, but this night was different. Despite the clear night sky, there were very few stars, a sign of the climactic battle to come. Red's face was out of Dawn's field of view, so she had no way to see whether he was intrigued or dissatisfied with the sky.

"I sensed your aura, since you stepped out of your room." Red said to Dawn without even turning his head. Dawn was not surprised by his comment to her.

"You couldn't sleep?" Dawn asked as she walked next to him.

"It's difficult to sleep knowing we're so close to the end." Red explained.

"You had no trouble sleeping after Mars zapped you a couple times." Dawn commented jokingly.

"That's not funny" Red reprimanded his friend, "I was lucky to wake from that coma at all."

Dawn's expression changed in the blink of an eye. Red seemed to act like the torture he endured to save her was nothing special. So she assumed that that was how he felt. Now that she realized the mark it left on him, she immediately felt remorse for her taunting. She was sure that Red did not want to talk about it, but there was something she had to get off her chest.

"Red, there's been something I've wanted to ask you." Dawn nervously asked, twiddling her fingers.

"What's wrong?" The Pokémon Master could feel her nervousness rising.

"While you were 'unconscious' at the Pokémon Center, I heard you crying and whimpering something, what were you dreaming about?"

What Red saw in his dream haunted his mind ever since that night. If Dawn knew what he saw, she would be discouraged and would not be able to sleep either.

"I don't remember what I saw." Red said as he quickly turned his head away from her, as she couldn't see his blushing face.

"I can tell you're lying Red." Dawn said, with a look on her face that said 'are you serious'.

Red knew that Dawn would find a way to get it out of him. It would be far more honorable to him, if he told her point blank. Red turned his head, looking Dawn in the eye, with eyes filled with remorse and explained his nightmare.

" I was in the middle of some deformed world. You were lying in front of me, cold as ice and your pulse slowly fading, No matter how hard I tried to save you, you just kept telling me to stop, saying that it was pointless before..."

Red heart became heavy with sorrow and he could no longer even stand. The Pokémon Master fell to his knees, his eyes filled with tears, as though he had just lost the battle for his life, before he finally answered her in a shaky voice.

"...You died."

"Oh my gosh" Dawn's voice was just as shaky as her childhood friend's. It was not the knowledge that she died in Red's nightmare that scared her, so much as knowing how much this illusion had traumatized him. Her emotions were a mixture of fear and joy, fear of this dream actually being a vision of the future, joy for knowing just how much Red cared about her.

"That must've been horrifying to you."

"It was" Red answered his voice not as shaky as before, now able to look Dawn in her baby blue eyes, "I couldn't stop blaming myself for not protecting you."

Now Dawn knew why Red truly came down to the bow. With their mission so close to its end, this would be the true test of Dawn's power but a thousand years ago Giratina massacred hundreds of Guardian Priestesses who were far more powerful than her. When he and Arceus begin their battle, the Lord of the Void could potentially slaughter her, and Red knew it.

"You and Ash have done a great job protecting me." Dawn reassured, putting a caring hand on his shoulder, "I couldn't have asked for anyone better to keep me safe."

"But I'm only human" Red doubted, "Like you I had no one to show me how to use my powers, if I was stronger, then I could've been able to unlock the full power of aura, and kept you safe."

"I told you, you've done more than enough to help me." Dawn began, "But now I need to take charge, I need to be the one who puts themselves at risk to protect the people I care most about. It's my destiny, to carry out what I know is right, I understand that now."

"I thought a Guardian Priestess' role was to carry out the will of Arceus." Red questioned, confused by Dawn's preaching.

"Arceus is more than what we think he is." Dawn explained, "This journey has shown me that Arceus is also a metaphor for a lot of things; the good in everyone, eternal life, our destinies and even the whole world."

"Then I guess tomorrow you'll find the Arceus within you." Red commented with a small smile.

"And I couldn't have anyone better to stand there with me." Dawn said as she and Red got back to their feet.

"Before we go back to bed, I just have one last question for you." Dawn said before walking up to him and asking him a very important question.

"Do you believe in Arceus, Red?"

Red was at first very shocked by her question, but then came to understand why she asked him. Throughout their journey, Red never once treated Arceus like the deity history made him out to be, only like a Pokémon in need of help. At the same time, he never showed any true fear in Giratina's power, acting like he was the leader of a criminal syndicate like Team Rocket. So it would stand to reason that this would leave his beliefs in question.

"Dawn, I believe that religion..."

"Red, I didn't ask if you believe what people say about Arceus, I asked if you believe in Arceus."

"I'm a Pokémon Master, my experiences tell me I will never understand Arceus."

"And your heart?" Dawn asked as she put her hand on his chest. Red took her hand in both of his, while keeping them against his chest, and answered her.

"Tells me I'm not meant to. Faith is a gift I have yet to receive."

**Chapter 3**

Morning had risen over the seascape. The ocean turned orange as the sunlight glistened off the dancing waves.

Brock did not get any sleep as he was tasked with taking the yacht ship to the port south of Pallet Town. Surrounding the Pokémon doctor, while he was at the helm, were dozens of empty energy drink cans and coffee mugs. This prevented him from falling asleep, but his energy began to ebb away. Despite the rising sun glaring into his face, he was finding it very difficult to keep his eyes open, let alone stay standing. But what Brock could barely make out in the glare of the sun, would reenergize him unlike anything in their entire five month voyage (No, it wasn't Nurse Joy rubbing sun tan lotion on Officer Jenny's back.)

"All hands on deck." Brock called over the intercom, "Pallet Town is up ahead!"

In minutes, the passengers swarmed around the deck of the ship. At first they were scattering around like insects before they finally congressed at the bow of the yacht. In the distance, the faint outline of a set of docks and behind them a small town, high atop a hill a large building with a windmill in the back gazed down over the small town.

"I'm home" Ash whispered to himself as he saw his town come into view.

His mind raced with all that he hoped to accomplish once the ship made into port. he hadn't seen his mother in almost half a year, he also wanted to see his Pokémon again. The question was, how was he going to explain to his mother why he hasn't been able to speak with her. His true reason being, his love for her made her a veritable target for the Lord of the Void. To protect her from suffering the same fate as Misty, Ash had no choice but to keep her distance from her, until the Alpha Pokémon awoke again.

To Red, Pallet Town was his real home. It was here that his Pokémon journey began, here that he met the man who inspired him and here that he received the item that would name him one of the six Pokédex Keepers, the title all other Trainers wished they had. No matter what happened to him in his past, he knew that he could always come back to this town, here everyone knew his name and they cheered when they saw him. The knowledge that so many people loved him always lifted his spirits.

"Looking forward to seeing your mom?" Dawn asked Ash cheerfully.

"I can't" Ash regretfully answered, "I can't see her until after Arceus is back."

"Why not?" May asked surprised, "She's your mother."

"Exactly" Ash explained, "If Giratina found out that she was my mother, he would go after her to get to me."

"Doesn't that sound a little farfetched?" Lyra asked, "After all, Dane is the one that he wants."

"I'm a Sacred Knight, a threat to Giratina" Ash reasoned, "He took Misty because I openly showed how much she meant to me."

Red sympathized with Ash's fear and his thoughts. He had the same mentality for the Pokédex Keepers after the battle of Cinnabar Island, had they had no connection to him than maybe they could still be alive. The Pokémon Master could sense the strain Ash's fear had on his heart.

"If you're really that scared, then I'll speak with your mother and let her know you are alright." Red offered, "You can go to Professor Oak's Laboratory and see your Pokémon.

"Thank you, Red." Ash responded silently.

The yacht finally pulled into port, as soon as it did, Ash, Red, Dawn, Brock, May, Max and Lyra disembarked after bidding a fond farewell to Princess Salvia and Freesia. The sovereign of the former Arrowroot Town left with the mission Red had assigned her, gather all the Trainers she could find and bring them to Pallet Town.

Red, Dawn and Lyra went to Ash's house to speak with Delia Ketchum (his mother) while Ash, May, Brock and Max went to Professor Oak's laboratory, not just to check on his Pokémon, but to also ask the Professor for his assistance.

It was only a short distance from the docks to Ash's house. Red had seen this house plenty of times during his visit to Pallet Town, but had no idea that it was Ash's house. It was one of the largest in the small village, not as big as Red's real house back in Twinleaf Town, but he still thought of it as a better place to raise a family. In the front yard watering the gardens was Delia's Mr. Mime, Mimey.

"Hi Mimey" Dawn greeted as she set Piplup down to shake its hand, "Remember me? I'm Dawn Ash's friend."

Mimey recognized Dawn and happily shook her hand. However, Red and Lyra were knew to it and it was not so ready to let them near the Ketchum household. Fortunately, there was someone there to reassure her Pokémon companion.

"It's okay Mimey." Delia said as she stepped out from around the house wearing a sun hat and gardening gloves, "This is Red, the boy who has been travelling around with Dawn and Ash."

"Hi I'm Lyra." The Pokémon Ranger greeted as she shook Delia's hand.

"How do you know that I've been travelling with Dawn and Ash?" Red asked, once again suspicious.

"Oh, I told her" Another female voice called out to them. Johanna stepped out from the other side of the house, also wearing a sunhat and gloves.

"Mom?" Dawn asked surprised, "What're you doing here?"

"Ash's mother invited me and Glameow to stay here a few weeks back" Johanna explained, in exchange for helping her with her gardens."

"Your mother has quite the green thumb." Delia complimented, "Would any of you care for some tea?"

"It would be an honor" Red said as he took his hat off and bowed.

The five humans and their Pokémon companions went into the Ketchum household for some rest. Lyra asked to use their bathroom, once she came out she was wearing her Pokémon Ranger uniform.

Dawn asked her why she changed attire, and Lyra simply said, "With that's about to go down, I'd feel more comfortable wearing my uniform."

With some help from Mimey, Delia had finished making the tea in just a few minutes and brought it out for her guests. The taste was absolutely exquisite, the tea was a specialty at the restaurant that Delia owned and successfully ran.

"So what brings you to Pallet Town?" Delia asked. Red, Dawn and Lyra looked at each other nervously, ultimately they concluded that it would be best to tell Delia the truth, after all Johanna seemed to already know it.

"Well the first thing you need to know is that Ash is okay" Red explained, "He's at Professor Oak's laboratory checking up with his Pokémon."

"Why didn't he come home?" Delia asked.

"Well it's a very long story, in fact I'm quite new to it." Lyra answered. The Pokémon Ranger quickly went to work explaining their quest to find the Palace of Light in order to defeat Giratina. She also explained Silver and Red's rivalry and Misty being sucked into the Distortion World being the reason why Ash didn't want to see his mother, because he wanted to protect her.

"How could Ash be doing something this dangerous?" Delia asked, horrified by their stories of the Antimon.

"It's my fault, Ash is doing this to protect me." Dawn reasoned in a guilty tone.

"No Dawn, it's my fault." Johanna argued, "I knew this secret ever since you were just a baby, but I have done my best to keep it secret."

"You knew?" Dawn asked half shocked and half enraged, "You knew about this and never told me?! Did you know that Giratina would go after me someday?!"

Johanna said nothing, she could not even bring herself to look her own daughter in her eyes. Dawn knew that this was a sign that she was right. The shock of realizing that her mother was aware of how dangerous her life would become, left Dawn just speechless. She was her mother, how could she be so secretive, especially about her daughter's own safety.

"Oh my gosh you did!" Dawn deduced horrified, "You knew that my life was on the line and you didn't tell me? Do you have any clue what the last five months have been like for me?! Is there anything else you haven't told me about?!"

"I never did tell you about your father did I?" Johanna confessed.

"You told me that dad died in a car accident before I was born." Dawn commented, her voice heavy, pleading that this was the truth as opposed to something worse.

"Fourteen years ago, I wanted children more than anything, but I had no husband, so that hope seemed distant. Then one night, I had a dream where I saw what I would later find out to be the Lake Guardians and they said to me that I would bear Arceus' daughter and she would be named after the new dawn that she would bring to man with her gifts. At first I dashed it off as just my mind playing games, but a few weeks later I began showing the symptoms of pregnancy. Just to be certain I went to a doctor and he said that I was with child, you."

Dawn couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of all the myths, legends and fables she heard over the course of her journey, this had the greatest impact on her.

"So that means, I literally am, Arceus' daughter." Dawn said, at first her voice was filled with joy, but her heart turned to sorrow when she realized another, more horrifying truth, "Then that means that the Creation Trio are my brothers, including Giratina."

"The evil we have to destroy" Red commented, "Is your family."

**Chapter 4**

Dawn was in so much pain she could not even speak. All she could do was look at reflection in her tea. How could this be true? The most evil force in the universe was born from the same father as her. It weighed greatly on her soul to know that technically she was related to that evil spawn.

"Dawn, I'm so sorry I never told you." Johanna said as she stood up from her seat, walked over to Dawn and sat down next to her, putting her arm around her shoulder and holding her daughter close. Dawn quickly swatted her mother's arm away, leaving everyone surprised.

"So you were just going to let me go on believing that you're all I have to live up to, when in real life, I have a greater calling than just being a Coordinator." Dawn responded in a shaky voice, tears coming from her eyes.

"Don't talk like that, all you wanted was to become a Coordinator, it's your entire life." Johanna reasoned in a pleading tone, "All I ever wanted was to keep you safe from the truth."

"Yeah, well the truth has set me free!" Dawn exclaimed as she stood up from her seat, "Now that I know my entire life has been a lie, I know what I'm meant to do and who my real family is!"

"Arceus' blood runs through my veins" Dawn commented, "Meaning that I can do his wonders, like he said. There is nothing I can't accomplish, nothing can stop me anymore! I am a daughter of God!"

"Golden moment, somebody play 'Eye of the Tiger' on the radio!" Lyra excitedly offered. Red simply swung his hand forward and smacked Lyra in the back of her head.

"I'm going to finish the destiny you tried to hide from me." Dawn, "Today, I'm going to find the palace, awaken Arceus and start the life you never wanted me to know about!"

With her orders made, Dawn grabbed Piplup and her bag, stormed out of Delia's house, slamming the door on her way out.

"Dawn wait!" Johanna called as she ran after her daughter.

Red quickly ran after the two blue haired family members, followed by Lyra and Delia. Red and Delia began running at the same pace and Ash's mother took this as a chance to converse with the Pokémon Master.

"Has Dawn ever acted like this?" Delia asked.

"As though she's been betrayed, yes" Red began, "Prideful of the fact that she has great power, no. But I'm terrified that all this power will get to her head."

Ash, May, Max and Brock were climbing the long steps up to Professor Oak's laboratory. It was a long and arduous trek, but years of climbing the same steps had gotten all of them used to it. Eventually the four humans and their Pokémon companions reached the doors to Professor Oak's Laboratory, before a voice called out to Ash from behind them.

"Hey, Ash I haven't seen you in a long time." Ash and the others turned their heads and saw Ash's former rival and Professor Oak's grandson standing behind them.

"Gary?" Ash asked surprised, "What're you doing here?"

"I live here don't forget" Gary reminded tauntingly, "Also I got a call from Gramps saying that my older brother had stopped here a few days ago and I was hoping to catch up with him, I bet you came here to see your Pokémon and show off your progress to Gramps."

Not wanting to reveal their mission to Gary for his own protection, Ash simply nodded in agreement. Besides, Ash assumed that a battle with his old friend would help get his Pokémon hyped for his master plan to amend a past mistake.

"Well once we get inside how about a battle to see how well you've persevered." Gary offered.

"You've got it Gary" Ash responded boldly, hoping to cover up his secret mission to his rival turned friend.

The two opened the doors, expecting to be greeted by Professor Oak's assistant and Ash's old friend Tracey Sketchit. Instead the lab, there was not a soul to be seen.

"Hello!" Ash shouted, there was no response.

"Hey Gramps, you here?" Gary shouted, again silence.

"Professor Oak, where are you?" Max called out, once more the silence met their calls.

Although none of them would say it, with Gary there, but they all were thinking the same thing, even Pikachu. There was a strong chance that the Antimon had found the Professor and made him pay for his unspeakable crime of associating with the fugitives of the Renegade Pokémon.

With this terrifying illusion in his head, Ash made a mad dash to the back of the lab, towards the doors to the Pokémon Corral. His mind raced and his heart beat at dangerously fast speeds. If Professor Oak was there, then that would explain why he couldn't hear Ash or Gary, however if he wasn't there then it was all but obvious that the Antimon found him first.

Ash swung the door open and ran out to the open fields that would eventually be consumed by the trees that would choke out the grass and become a forest, and beyond that one was not sure.

"Professor Oak! Where are you?!" Ash shouted into the sky.

"I'm right here, there's no need to shout." Professor Oak said from next to Ash. he was sitting on the grass, holding a pen and paper, observing Ash's Bulbasaur.

"It's good to see you again Professor" Ash said as he breathed a sigh of relief. The Trainer then bent down and petted one of his first Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, I missed you little buddy." Ash said. Bulbasaur nuzzled its hand in its Trainer's hand showing its joy in seeing him again.

Gary, May, Max and Brock then raced out of the lab and were pleased to see Oak alright. Judging by how Ash had fallen silent they had their suspicions that his mentor was alright, but this helped satisfy their need to reassurance.

"Hey Professor Oak, it's great to see you again." Max said as he shook the professor's hand

"Hello Max, May, Brock and of course you Gary." Oak greeted as he got back to his feet.

"What're you doing?" Brock asked as he noticed the writing on the Professor's notepad.

"I've been observing how Bulbasaur communicates with the Pokémon when it is solving disputes. The way Bulbasaur speaks to the other Pokémon is leading me to believe that we could someday decode the language of the Pokémon." Oak explained joyfully.

"Where's Tracey?" May asked, "Shouldn't he be helping you out?"

"Well not for a while, he's gone back to the Orange Islands for a few days, visiting family. He invited me to come, but I have to stay here and finish some research." The Professor explained.

"Hey gramps, me and Ash were about to battle, you want to watch?" Gary asked as he grabbed a PokéBall off his belt.

"Well of course I would, your battles with Ash are always unpredictable because you're so equally matched." Oak answered.

"Yeah well, I guess we aren't so equal now, for the last few months, I've been training with.." Before Ash could continue his boasts, the sound of heavy footsteps and shouting came from inside the lab, getting louder.

Dawn came storming out into the corral, her face shouted anger as she looked down at the ground, but still held Piplup in her arms.

"Dawn stop!" Johanna called out as she entered the corral, "Would you really believe me if I told you?"

"I'm not listening." Dawn responded coldly. Red, Lyra and Delia raced in after the squabbling family members, panting as they finally got to catch up to their friends.

"Answer me Dawn!" Johanna said, her voice now turned to rage, "Can you look me in the eye and say that you would believe me if I said you were literally God's daughter."

Dawn spun around, now she was even more enraged and full of despair than when she saw Red for the first time in six years. Gently she put Piplup on the ground and answered her.

"It doesn't matter, you're my mother, you should never keep secrets from me. All my life I wanted to find something that made me special, anything that would let me know that out of all the people in the world, I have something that makes me unique. When all this time it has existed inside of me all this time and you never told me that, all that you would say to me was 'everyone is special'."

Their bickering was cut short when Piplup began unexpectedly running into the forest. Pikachu and Pika noticed their comrade run off and followed him. The sight of the three small Pokémon running into the forest caught the corner of Red's eye, and Ash obviously felt it when his Pokémon companion jumped off his shoulder.

"Pikachu where are you going?" Ash called.

"Pika, what is it?" Red asked. Dawn caught on that her starting Pokémon was gone.

"Piplup! where are you?" Dawn called out.

"Pika and Pikachu must've gone after him." Brock explained.

"Piplup must've sensed something different" Professor Oak theorized, "As I have said before, Pokémon are more in tune with nature then we are."

"Let's go see what Piplup saw" Red commented as he ran after the three scurrying Pokémon.

The ten humans followed him, following the sound of rustling through the forests. Eventually they finally got close enough that Ash, who was at the front of the mob, could see Red. From what Ash could see, Red had picked up his pace, like a predator stalking and chasing prey.

A sound of cascading water began to grow as they pressed on further into the forest, to the travellers, this was an all too obvious sound that Red was following the three Pokémon towards a waterfall. Finally, the dense forest broke to reveal a waterfall that was fifty feet wide and continued down a long and winding river that would eventually return into the forest.

As they looked on in awe at the majesty and beauty of the descending waterfall, Dawn sensed a strong force coming from behind it. She had this feeling before, when they searched for the Sacred Light, the Azure Flute and even the riddle on Rayquaza's underbelly. She was certain as to what this meant to her.

"Professor Oak, what's behind that waterfall?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I don't know" The professor answered, "I've never been back there before, there's no way to get past the water without destroying the falls."

"Maybe there is" Dawn said as she put her hands together and closed her eyes. Slowly she began stepping forward, taking baby steps, towards the fast flowing river.

"Dawn what're you doing?" Brock asked terrified.

"If you keep you'll fall into the river and drown!" May shouted to her.

"Not if you have faith." Dawn commented, still keeping her eyes closed.

"The heck are you talking about 'faith'? Have you gone insane?" Gary asked, surprised. Although he had only seen Dawn a few times in the past, he had never seen her act anything like this.

"It's a leap of faith."

That was the last thing Dawn said before her feet escaped the earth and took her to the water. To everyone's astonishment, she didn't sink into the rapidly moving water, instead she was standing on it. Gary, Delia, Johanna and Professor Oak were dumbfounded by what they had seen, it was like an act of the son of God, to be walking on the water as though it were the very ground they were standing on. Still with her eyes closed she began walking towards the falls.

"This is the final test you guys, you must have faith." Dawn explained, "The water is blessed so only those who believe they can, will walk on it."

Red was the first to act, following Dawn's example, he closed his eyes, put his hands together and stepped onto the river, before he could though, Pika jumped onto his shoulder. To his great surprise, he was walking on it. After seeing two very different people walking on the water, the rest of the Trainer were quick to follow. Brock was finding it difficult to stay standing on the water as Piplup was sitting on his head, throwing off his balance only slightly.

Dawn led her human and Pokémon companions towards the waterfall. The closer they got to the crushing force of water, the more uncertain the humans felt of their faith. Dawn could sense their uneasiness and had to reassure them.

"Remember guys, have faith." At last Dawn reached the waterfall, the sprinkling water and deafening thunderous roar did not deter her approach. As she approached, the waterfall opened upward like a zipper, splitting open to reveal a dark cavern deep behind the falls. From where Dawn was standing the cavern seemed enormous and spanned a great distance.

Dawn felt sudden and great joy, at long last their journey had reached its end. In spite of their dangers, sacrifices and loss of a great friend, it would all be worth it when they found what was inside the cavern, and Dawn knew it when she commented to her friends.

"It's here, the Palace of Light."

**Chapter 5**

The eleven humans and their Pokémon companions marched through the open waterfall. The cave behind it was as dark as a moonless night (Of course none of them would know it as for the last month the moon was full every night.) Below their feet, the explorers could feel the water change into moist stone as they touched down on the rock.

"This place is huge" Max commented as his voice echoed deep into the cave.

"I can't believe this has been under my nose the entire time." Professor Oak mentioned.

"Being this big, of course the Palace could fit." Brock thought out loud.

"What Palace?" Gary asked, in shock at what he was just capable of doing, "Why were we able to walk on the river and through the waterfall?!"

"It's a long story" May began to explain.

"One too long to get into right now." Red interrupted, "We're so close to the end, let's end this now."

"Right" Ash added, "Dawn can you sense the Palace?"

Dawn closed her eyes and concentrated her thoughts into finding the Palace. Soon she heard a voice calling out to her from deep inside the cave.

"I can hear it" She answered as she opened her eyes, "Let's go."

"Right but first" Red halted as he opened a PokéBall and released Chars. The flame on the end of the dragon Pokémon's tail lit the cave around them.

"Good idea Red" Ash mentioned as he opened one of his own PokéBalls and released Charizard. As with its larger friend, Charizard used the flame on his tail to keep the cave around them alit.

The humans and Pokémon marched through the cave, weary of any Antimon that could be laying hidden. It had been quite a long time since any of them had run into an Antimon. Now that they had become even more stronger, one could safely assume that Giratina would be sending them out by the hundreds, but for some reason they disappeared after the battles at Sky Pillar and Stark Mountain. There was one reason behind this that they all thought of, but bothered not to say. Giratina was keeping them held back as he planned to unleash them all in one giant attack, the extinction of humanity and Pokémon. With this thought in everyone's mind, they began walking even faster through the cave.

Their search came to a halt when they were confronted by a massive archway, decorated with symbols and hieroglyphs and at the top was a hieroglyph of Arceus.

"What do the glyphs say?" Brock asked Dawn.

Dawn looked at the ancient writing on the architectural marvel. Before she could detail what they explained, someone else spoke up.

"The home of his apostles, the place for his name, The citadel of God." Gary translated.

"This is it" Ash commented.

"Five months of travelling is about to pay off" May added.

"Once we pass through this arch, we'll find the Palace of Light." Dawn finished.

Slowly, Dawn passed through the arch first. She wanted to savor every moment. She was more excited for this than any other time in her life, she was finally about to see what it was that made her unique and more importantly, she was finally going to meet her father.

Dawn passed through the large stone arch, awaiting her friends so they could all be astounded by the beauty of the palace together. As the others appeared, Chars and Charizard flashed their tails forward and illuminated the cavern once more. All of them, except for Gary and Professor Oak who were clueless of what was happening, were expecting to see a fabulous, enormous palace made out of valuable stones, what they instead saw was almost heartbreaking.

First off, the cavern had gotten drastically smaller after the arch. There was no palace there, instead it was a stone shrine only a few meters away from them, which was embedded into the wall of the cavern. On the ground was a map of the solar system, Max bent down to get a better look at the map.

"This is a Geocentric map." Max pointed out.

"What does that mean?" Ash asked, Pikachu was also scratching his head in confusion.

"Geocentric maps are maps of the solar system where the Earth is at the center instead of the sun." Max answered.

"Well that's just obvious, that's what they thought at that time." Gary pointed out. The others were still hurting at what they had seen.

"This is it?" May asked, "This is the Palace of Light?"

"No, this isn't it" Dawn responded in a depressed whisper.

"Then where is it?" Delia asked, "How can Arceus be awakened if there is no palace?"

"I don't know!" Dawn shouted back, in an enraged voice. Delia was at first taken aback by Dawn's harshness, but understood her anger.

"This can't be it!" Ash argued, "All the horrors we've been through, all the sacrifices we've had to make, and Misty! This can't be how it ends!"

"And it won't be" Red decided, his face glowing with rage and determination, with fire in his eyes.

"If Arceus can't stop Giratina, then we will" Red explained, "We will go to the Distortion World, we'll fight Giratina and we will save Misty."

"And how are we supposed get to another dimension?" Gary asked, thinking of Red's plan as ridiculous, "It isn't exactly as easy as getting onto a ferry and sailing there."

As Red went into detail talking about stories he heard of a cave in the Sinnoh Region with a portal into a warped reality, Dawn's mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about the riddle that led them to Pallet Town, more specifically, the part about the palace being at the center of Arceus.

"Why does that sound so familiar?" Dawn said to herself. She began thinking about all the metaphors Arceus at that moment, her mind took her back several weeks, to the forest near Sky Pillar. She stumbled onto a frozen tree that was Arceus' way of speaking to her. Then she remembered what her father said to her on that night.

_I am the god of all around you, from the moon and the stars and the earth itself, for I am all of that and all of that is me._

"And the earth itself..." Dawn recited to herself, "Why would he mention the earth as opposed to the universe, unless..."

"It's here!" Dawn shouted excitedly as she pointed to the ground below her.

Everyone else was huddled together formulating a plan, when Dawn called out to them. They all looked at her, ready to hear what she had to say.

"What do you mean?" Brock asked first.

"Remember what the riddle said, the Palace of Light is at the center of Arceus!" Dawn began, brimming with energy, "Well Arceus is a metaphor for a lot of things, so what if our planet is by Arceus! And that would mean that the Palace of Light is at the center of the planet!"

**Chapter 6**

"Center of the planet?! Ooh I'm dying again!" Lyra shouted as she grabbed her chest, once more pretending to have a heart attack.

Lyra said what they all were thinking. It was quite logical of Palkia to move the Palace of Light to the center of the planet, where Giratina would never be able to find or get to it, but this also meant that the Guardian Priestess may not be able to get there either.

"And how in the name of Pokémon are we supposed to be able to get down there?!" Gary asked with a voice filled with anger.

"We'd better start digging" May offered, honestly assuming it was the best option.

"Yeah, it we start now then we'll get there in time for dinner." Max commented sarcastically.

"It's a leap of faith." Dawn answered, "If you believe the palace is there then the seal will take us."

"What seal?" Ash asked. Dawn simply pointed down to the ground they were standing on smiling.

"There's a reason Earth is at the center of this map." She answered.

Dawn stepped onto the Earth on the map on the ground, put her hands together, closed her eyes and prayed. Her voice was so silent none of them could hear what she was saying. The only way that they could know she was speaking was by the subtle movements of her lips, which Red followed attentively hoping to find out what she was saying.

Red's attention was drawn from Dawn's prayer and to the map, which they just discovered to be a seal. A gold light danced around the seal, illuminating the outer circle and each of the planets and moons inside the seal. The greatest glow came from the earth, where Dawn was standing as she continued her prayer.

Every human and Pokémon could feel it, suddenly their bodies became lighter almost as though they were floating. As they looked down simultaneously they could see that their physical sensation was the truth.

"What's happening?" May asked out loud with great nervousness in her voice.

"Dawn's taking us to the palace." Red explained, his voice calm and collected as he knew no harm was coming to them.

The seal around them began to shine brighter and brighter until it became almost blinding. To save themselves from certain blindness the creatures, human and Pokémon, inside the seal shielded their eyes from the divine light.

Finally the light subsided and the humans and Pokémon inside the seal could look around themselves. They were no longer in the cavern anymore, not even in Pallet Town. Instead, they were inside of a cavern, the walls were made of a transparent igneous rock, which revealed the palace to be surrounded by lava, they were at the center of the planet.

"We've made it" Brock mentioned as he looked out at what lay before them.

In front of them was a long bridge made from marble stone which spanned over a fast flowing water moat led to a massive stone island with something fantastic sitting atop its igneous bed.

A castle, made from the same stone as the bridge. It was colossal, far bigger than any castle seen on the surface of the world. In front of it stood a massive gate, big enough for even Dialga to safely pass through. The castle seemed to be built around one enormous tower, with smaller towers and spires built onto the sides of it. On the side of the large tower, was an enormous domed balcony, decorated with hieroglyphs and ancient writing. Everyone knew what it was, the reason for their past five months of pain and suffering.

"The citadel built by God." Red commented, "The home of his name."

"The Palace of Light." Dawn concluded.

They were dumbfounded by its spectacular glory, this palace was unlike anything they had ever seen before, it had been down in this hot climate for a thousand years and yet it looked unscathed by time. This could only be the work of a divine being, to allow something of such magnificence to be around for so long in such a climate and not fall victim to damage.

"We did it!" Ash shouted triumphantly as he and Pikachu jumped into the air with joy, "Everything we have been through, has finally paid off!"

"Our journey is finally over." Max said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not yet" Red warned them, "We still have to awaken Arceus."

"Okay, I think the palace is awesome and everything" Gary began, "But seriously, what is everyone talking about?!"

"We're almost out of time" Dawn explained, "Let's keep going and all your questions will be solved Gary."

Without another word, Dawn took off across the bridge, carrying Piplup in her arms. She paid no attention to the river that was several hundred meters below her feet. She was mere moments away from achieving her destiny and meeting her father, the only family she cared about. The priestess chose to ignore her mother's calls to her to be careful as she crossed the bridge. But the bridge was quite large, clearly big enough to support the weight of several Snorlax, maybe even a Groudon, Dawn knew this and didn't care about safety.

Dawn stopped before the massive gates of the palace. They were closed shut and it looked as though it would take the combined strength of Mamoswine, Snorlax and Onix to move it. However, almost out of instinct, the young priestess placed her hand on the door and with a deafening rumble the massive gates began to slowly open, welcoming the priestess and her companions to the palace of the gods.

"This place is beautiful." May commented as she looked at all around her.

"What's that?" Lyra's gaze was however on a most bizarre object. It looked like a pillar made from swirling silver air that broke through the ground and ceiling of the cave. About a hundred feet up the pillar, was a black sphere that was swirling at a much faster rate than the rest of the pillar.

"It looks like two magnetic forces pushing against one another." Max theorized.

"That is the most logical assumption, seeing as we are at the center of the Earth, they could be the polarities of the North and South pole reacting to one another." Professor Oak deduced. Curiosity go the better of Brock who leaned in to touch it, when Max grabbed him by his ear and began pulling him back.

"Ow! Ow! the ear!" Brock shouted as Max pulled him back a few feet and then let him go.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Max explained, "If the gravity forces are pushing against each other..."

Max picked up a large stone next to his foot and gently tossed it into the Gravity Pillar. Suddenly, the stone rocketed upward inside the Pillar. Once it reached the black sphere at the center of the pillar, the stone crumbled to dust in the blink of an eye.

"What just happened?" Johanna asked in a shocked tone.

"That sphere is at the center of the pillar, where the two gravity forces are pushing against one another." Max explained.

"So there, the gravity is intensified to the point of crushing anything that's inside it." Gary concluded. Leaving the Gravity Pillar behind them, the humans and their Pokémon ventured forward into the Palace of Light.

Around them they saw something that the mountainous gates of the palace concealed, enormous craters and massive holes in the ground and walls of the palace. Pillars were toppled over, tapestries were torn to shreds and a grand stairway had crumbled. It was clear to them that this was the work of Giratina when he first attacked the palace and maybe even during his struggle against his brothers and Arceus.

It broke Dawn's heart to see such a wonderful place turned to such a desolate ruin. She felt such anguish knowing that this holy place was disgraced that she fell to her knees and looked at the tattered ground with sorrow filled eyes.

"How could he do this, how could Giratina be so heartless?" Dawn asked herself. Red knelt down and put a kind hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Dawn" Red sympathized, "But there's nothing we can do, now all we can do is live."

Dawn got back to her feet, he eyes still heavy with sorrow. As she looked around, she felt like there was only thing she could do. Dawn opened her heart and began to gently sing.

_The snow glows white on the mountain tonight__  
__Not a footprint to be seen__  
__A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the Queen__  
__The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside__  
__Couldn't keep it in; Heaven knows I've tried_

_Don't let them in, don't let them see__  
__Be the good girl you always have to be__  
__Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know__  
__Well now they know_

Dawn's voice turned from shy and timid to bold and triumphant as her mood changed. Now she was not afraid to accept her fate, she was ready to welcome it.

_Let it go, let it go__  
__Can't hold it back any more__  
__Let it go, let it go__  
__Turn away and slam the door__  
__I don't care__  
__What they're going to say__  
__Let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway_

Suddenly shining with confidence, Dawn marched forward a smiling glowing on her face as she came to understand what it was she had to do next.

_It's funny how some distance__  
__Makes everything seem small__  
__And the fears that once controlled me__  
__Can't get to me at all_

As Dawn began running through the palace, she held out her hands creating a bright light that seemed to be coming from nowhere.

_It's time to see what I can do__  
__To test the limits and break through__  
__No right, no wrong, no rules for me__  
__I'm free_

Dawn charged for the broken staircase, holding her hands forward. In a bright light, the stairs were rebuilt, good as new, before the eyes of her surprised friends, who were running after her, keeping strong pace with her but staying at least ten feet behind her as not to disturb her.

_Let it go, let it go__  
__I am one with the wind and sky__  
__Let it go, let it go__  
__You'll never see me cry__  
__Here I stand__  
__And here I stay__  
__Let the storm rage on_

As the stairs progressed, they plateaued at one point to reveal a landing with large doors on them. Dawn used her powers and opened the doors reveal it was the balcony on the side of the palace, it was actually a massive prayer room with a large altar at the center of the chamber. Dawn climbed atop the altar, as she and the others entered the room, and saw that on it was an outline of Arceus, she then knew it would be here that she would meet her father after she has awakened him.

Boldly, Dawn held out her hands and illuminated this room too with a light with no source. She wanted this room to be in prime condition for when she would see the one who gave her life, as she continued to sing.

_My power flurries through the air into the ground__  
__My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around__  
__And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast_

At that moment, Dawn turned and looked Johanna in the eye. What she was about to say was not just to spite her mother, but also to seal her own future.

_I'm never going back,__  
__The past is in the past_

Dawn pulled off her white hat and threw it aside, signifying her retiring from ever entering another contest ever again, that chapter in her life was over. The young Priestess waved her hands over her body and her clothes changed too, she now wore an elegant yellow and white dress with green earrings and yellow PokéBall bands in her hair, this was a symbol of her new life, as Arceus' daughter and a Guardian Priestess.

_Let it go, let it go__  
__When I'll rise like the break of dawn__  
__Let it go, let it go__  
__That perfect girl is gone__  
__Here I stand in the light of day__  
__Let the storm rage on,__  
__The cold never bothered me anyway_

Her number ended, she rested her voice and admired the beauty she had created around her and her friends. the prayer chamber looked as glorious as it may have at the time of the palace's creation. Now everything was set for her to awaken Arceus. Gently she stepped down from the altar with the help of Red and Ash.

Johanna was in tears, her own daughter had just told her that she never wanted anything to do with her again. She knew that she had hurt Dawn by keeping secrets from her, still Johanna wanted to make amends with her child, but now she knew that she was too late, Dawn was too far gone in her hatred for her mother. This made Johanna's pain hurt even more.

"Do it Dawn" Red insisted, "Pray to Arceus and let him come to Earth."

Dawn stood in front of the altar, the time had come for her to fulfill her destiny, but before she could kneel and start praying, a light began to shine through the glass window in the stone roof directly above the altar.

"Did you make that light Dane?" Lyra asked.

"I haven't even prayed yet." Dawn answered, with great surprise.

"It looks like this could be a god beam" Professor Oak theorized as he looked through the window and saw the cloud formation.

"What's a god beam?" Ash asked.

"They're when light from the sun shines through the clouds, creating a beam" Gary answered.

"Wait, how can there be god beams if we're underground?" Delia asked.

From within this god beam, a figure slowly began to materialize. It was unclear as to what it was at first, fearing this to be the work of Giratina or Darkrai, Red and the other Trainers grabbed PokéBalls off their belts and readied to attack.

Soon the figure had perfectly faded into reality. It was definitely a Pokémon, but not like any they had seen before. It had a ten foot, white horse design with an elongated neck, gold pointed hooves, and a gold cross like wheel around its body. Just based on its stance and the way its warm, green eyes looked at them, it was all but obvious who this Pokémon was.

"Arceus" Ash said.

"The Alpha Pokémon." Brock added.

"God of heaven and Earth" Red commented.

"Father." Dawn concluded.

**Chapter 7**

"Your song Dawn" Arceus said to the young Priestess, "Your song can always be my herald, but it was the pure aura of the palace that lifted my curse and let me return to Earth."

Peering from behind the doorway to the Prayer Chamber, were the eyes of the Team Rocket Trio. They could not believe what they had just seen, the blue haired twerpette just used her powers to light up the room, change her clothes and just by singing she had brought forth the most powerful Pokémon to ever exist.

"Did that thing just talk?" James asked in a surprised whisper.

"Of course, it made the world and everything in it, wouldn't you think it could've invented talking?" Meowth spat back.

"Well then let's catch it now" James offered.

"Not yet bolt brain!" Jessie harshly whispered back, "We have to wait until Guillotine appears."

"It's Giratina donut head!" Meowth answered.

The others were oblivious to the trio behind them. All their attention was focused on the deity that stood before them. The Pokémon's voice was powerful and bold, one only a true king could have. And his stance was brave and noble, he had nothing to fear, he ruled everyone and everything that was alive.

"What you mean is that every time I sing I summon you?" Dawn asked surprised.

"Yes, however, sometimes it is not in physical form, such as the forests around the Sky Pillar" Arceus explained.

"I can't believe this" Professor Oak commented as he joyfully ran towards the infinite Pokémon and began to take measurements of his leg size, "I've never seen a Pokémon like this before, it's definitely not as big as other Pokémon like Gyarados or Steelix, but I can just feel how powerful this Pokémon is."

"May I ask you not to do that?" Arceus asked the professor. Professor Oak obeyed the Alpha Pokémon's request and stepped back.

"Arceus I need to ask you, are you really my father?" Dawn asked, her supposed father.

"Johanna's fiancée died sixteen years ago, she was alone, longing for a child and I required a pure vessel to hold my fourth heir." Arceus answered, "Using the piece of myself that I left with the three guardians of Sinnoh's grand lakes, the puzzle was completed."

"Then, you are..." May started.

"My father." Dawn finished.

"AS IS MINE!" A thunderous and terrifying voice echoed through the chamber.

From the reflective window in the ceiling, a purple portal with an endless black void emerged. From this void, a bolt of bright purple energy came out that struck Arceus before he or anyone else could react. The blast made Arceus howl in pain as an explosion erupted around the deity. The shock wave from the blast sent the humans and Pokémon flying. As the dust and smoke subsided, Ash, Dawn and Red got back up to their feet in time to see something they could only imagine in their worst nightmares.

It was a dragon with its back turned to them. This grey coloured dragon was standing over Arceus with six legs and two black ghostly wings. The monster turned to look at the humans below it, revealing its golden armor around its head and glowing red eyes. This creature was far more terrifying than either Kyurem or Darkrai or any Antimon. The humans fear of the monster got even worse when it let lose a terrifying roar that sounded more like a demonic scream.

"Giratina" Red identified.

"How can you be here?" Ash asked the beast before them.

"You're a prisoner in the Distortion World." Max added as he got back to his feet.

"Foolish boy, I deceived you from the moment you left Celestic Town." Giratina commented, his voice like a violent thunderstorm, "All this time you idiotically assumed I wanted to keep you from the palace my wretched father created, nothing could ever be further from the truth."

"You wanted us to find the palace" Ash deduced, "But why?"

"The pure aura" Brock came to realize, "If the aura of the palace can lift a curse on Arceus, who's to say it can't be used to lift the curse on Giratina keeping him trapped in the Distortion World."

"All this time we thought we were going to stop Giratina when we got here" Red commented as he clenched his fists tight in rage, "It turns out he played us for fools."

"No one tricks my son and gets away with it!" Delia snapped as she stepped forward and glared at Giratina.

"You mess with my daughter then you mess with me!" Johanna shouted as she stepped forward next to Delia.

The titan that lived in another world did not seem intimidated at all by the two mothers' stance, instead he seemed amused by them. As Arceus was preparing to get back up, Giratina violently stomped his left mid section foot down on his father's head, with just enough force to keep him pinned.

"I have challenged entire nations and emerged victorious, what need do I have to fear two housemaids?" Giratina asked tauntingly, before any of them could answer, he had another question for them.

"How desperate is your god, he calls upon children to fight his battle for him?"

"You want to know how desperate he is?" Red asked, rage was clearly present in his voice, "You threaten this world with genocide, you terrorize the girl I care the most about, you killed hundreds of holy women because of a personal issue with Arceus, he's not desperate, he's pissed."

"Arceus stopped you a thousand years ago, and he'll do it again." May warned.

"Is that so? You seem rather optimistic and confident since our last conversation." Giratina commented.

All eyes then turned to May. She did not tell them of her discussion with Giratina, nor what he told her of Dawn's fate. The lord of the void caught their attention as he twisted his foot, making Arceus grunt in pain as he pressed down.

"I could so easily kill him right now, and I am so tempted to do so. But I want my father to at least have a faint glimmer of hope that I can be stopped. Then the truth will crush him and his world."

With that last warning, Giratina crashed through the wall of the prayer room and took flight. Ash, Brock , Gary and Red sprinted to the hole he made to see where he was going. They could see him fly across the bridge and disappear as he flew over the seal that brought them to the Palace of Light.

"Where's he going?" Dawn asked as she, Johanna, Delia and Professor Oak were checking the condition of a still down Arceus.

"He's heading back to the surface." Gary answered.

"Why?" Delia asked, "Arceus is here, why didn't he stay here and battle him?"

"Because father's life plates would've protected him from any of Giratina's attacks." Dawn explained as she put her hand on Arceus to rejuvenate her father's strength.

"So he fled, like a coward" Johanna assumed.

"No he didn't" Ash answered, his eyes were wide with sudden terror as he realized what Giratina was planning, "There's something he's after."

"What does Giratina want?" Professor Oak asked. Before Ash could provide an answer, Red gave one.

"The Griseous Orb."

**Chapter 8**

Just hearing that damned name made the young Trainers shudder. The Griseous Orb, the one thing in any universe that could allow Giratina to revert to his original form, by placing an antimatter field around him, this also meant that most Pokémon attacks had no effect on him. Some time ago Ash, Pikachu and Cynthia went to the volcanic Stark Mountain where the orb was hidden and supposedly destroyed it, before Heatran drove them out.

"How could Giratina be after the orb?" Brock asked, "I thought it was destroyed."

"I thought it was destroyed" Ash commented, "Cynthia threw it into lava, that was good enough for me."

"She threw it into the lava?" Red asked both shocked and angered, "This thing has been around for eons, it's a piece of Giratina! Maybe it was hidden in a volcano to keep humans away from it because they knew it was indestructible!"

"Again we ended up doing what he wanted." May realized, hanging her head in defeat.

"We have to get to the mountain before Giratina does." Professor Oak decided as he led the humans and their Pokémon towards the doors out of the prayer Chamber.

"No!" Arceus shouted as he returned to his feet. The roaring shout of the deity Pokémon stopped everyone in their place, "None of you shall be sacrificed, this is my battle."

Before any of the humans or Pokémon could intervene, Arceus took to the air and flew through the hole in the wall of the chamber. The Alpha Pokémon soared towards the seal that his gruesome son used and returned to the surface as he was teleported away.

The humans and Pokémon looked on as their creator had departed, entering a battle with an unsure end. Dawn was the most taken aback by this, she would have to watch her father and brother battle.

Ash was preoccupied with other matters. His gaze was locked on the still open portal in the ceiling. He had a plan to heal a wound from his past. What he was planning was absolute suicide, but it was his best chance. There was also no doubt that Red would kill him if he told him, so he didn't.

"I've got something else to take care of." Ash said as he grabbed a PokéBall off his belt, "Charizard, I choose you!"

The Trainer opened the PokéBall and released his Charizard. Before the flaming Pokémon could prepare for battle, Ash jumped onto his back.

"Ash wait! What're you doing?!" Delia asked horrified by what she knew her son was going to do.

"Let's go Pikachu!"Ash commanded his oldest friend. The little Pokémon wasted no time in climbing to his Trainer's shoulder, ready for what he knew was going to happen.

"I promise I'll be right back" Ash reassured, before commanding Charizard, "Charizard take us through the portal!"

Not wasting a minute, Charizard took flight straight up and into the portal, leaving the real world behind them. The last thing Ash could hear as the world he knew vanished behind him, was his mother calling his name and Red calling him a name he should never have said with his mother close by.

Stark Mountain had fallen silent after the skirmish several weeks prior. The Heatran that once guarded the volcano had lost its reason to stand guard and had since left. However, its scent had remained and this was enough to keep many Pokémon away from the mountain. However, not this scent nor even Heatran itself could keep Giratina away.

The Renegade Pokémon charged through the air, black clouds materialized in the skies behind him, shrouding out the sun. His cold gaze focused on the flaming mountain several kilometers in front of him. He knew what was inside of it, and if anyone or thing got in his way, he would kill it.

Once the Lord of the void knew he was close enough he prepared to attack. Giratina opened his mouth and fired an orange sphere of his corrupted aura from it. The Aura Sphere sliced through the air as it travelled straight along its course and it struck the side of Stark Mountain, creating a deafening explosion that engulfed the side of the volcano. The light from the explosion was the only source of light for a great distance in all direction, as the dark clouds had shrouded out the sun, casting darkness over everything below.

The fire and smoke dissipated revealing a massive gash in the face of the volcanic peak. Lava should have poured out from it and began incinerating the forest and Pokémon around it, were it not for the frigid Aura Sphere that froze the lava. Jutting through the solidified magma was the object of the Renegade Pokémon's search, the Griseous Orb.

"Countless centuries of waiting, has led to this." Giratina said to himself.

The Griseous Orb could sense its master's presence and began levitating towards him. The orb began glowing a red aura as Giratina put his wings around it. Six red beams shot out from the orb and into the three red pikes in each of Giratina's wings. As the beams continued surging power into its master, the Griseous Orb began to shrink and fade. Giratina roared as he felt the power flow into him and his form change.

"Prepare to die Arceus!" Giratina shouted into the sky.

After travelling through a black and purple tunnel, Charizard had taken Ash and Pikachu into the world they knew as the Distortion World. Ash suddenly felt freezing cold as he looked around at the world around him. This world seemed empty and lifeless to him. Despite his Pokémon with him, Ash could not help but feel a sense of loneliness as he looked out across the crumbling land masses and it seemed as though the cold blue skies went on for eternity. It became clear to the young Trainer that this could not be how this world was supposed to look, this world was dead, killed by the affects of the Platinum Wars.

"Keep your eyes open guys" Ash instructed his two active Pokémon, "She has to be here somewhere."

Ash's eyes carefully scanned every floating land mass, there was no sign of his quarry on the masses he checked. She could be anywhere in this twisted and warped reality. There was no doubt to Ash that it could take him weeks to find her.

"It doesn't care, I'll find her" Ash said, "I will find you Misty."

Ash's relentless search came to an abrupt change when he heard something in the midst of the hollow winds. It sounded like someone calling his name.

_Ash_

He heard it again, this time clearer, this voice was very familiar to him, it couldn't be anyone else.

"Charizard, fly that way!" Ash commanded his Pokémon as he pointed in the direction the voice came from, "Hang on tight Pikachu!"

Charizard changed flight path and began to follow the path that Ash pointed out to him. The flaming Pokémon brought the young Ketchum to his destination. A massive landmass with a large dark cave that seemed to span for a far distance. It was not the cave that ash was interested as much as the small crystal growth on the edge of the cave.

Ash hopped off Charizard as the Pokémon landed and ran towards the crystalline fungus. Pikachu leaped after his Trainer, unsure as to what his plan was. Ash looked at the peculiar growth, there was a silhouette inside it, the silhouette of a human. Ash was confident it was Misty, but wanted to be certain this was not a trick. The only way he could do that, was to open the seal.

"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu's tail began to glow silver as he leapt into the air and swung his charged tail against the area of the crystal where the human's head was. The specific section of crystal shattered. Once the airborne shards of crystal were cast aside, the human's unconscious face and partial chest area was revealed to the awaiting audience as she slowly stirred into consciousness.

"Misty?" Ash asked, begging for it to be her.

"Ash?" Misty asked semi consciously as her gaze met her lover's face. As soon as she saw him again, Misty jolted awake and was livid to see her old and very close friend again.

"Ash! You came to save me!" Misty shouted excitedly.

"Of course I did" Ash said as he held up his silver necklace with a blue jewel in the center, Misty looked at her free chest at the exact same necklace.

"I made a promise." Ash added, before he reached forward, closing his eyes and giving Misty a long awaited kiss upon her lips. Misty was not as surprised as she was joyous to finally be embracing a future with her oldest friend.

Their passionate moment was cut short by the sound of thunderous footsteps coming from inside the cave that were far apart from one another. The footsteps began to get louder and more frequent, whatever was making these sounds, was getting closer. Acting on instinct, Ash stepped forward and peered into the cave, it was too dark to see what was causing the thunder.

"Ash hurry and get me out of here so we can escape!" Misty called. As Ash began stepping back, the cause of the footsteps emerged from the cave.

"Tyrantrum." Ash said to himself.

Ash and Misty had both heard of this prehistoric Pokémon. The most powerful carnivore of the prehistoric age, and probably the most vicious predator that ever lived. There was nothing in this predator's world that it was afraid of or couldn't eat. If there was something worse than a Tyrantrum, it was an Anti Tyrantrum that was twice the size of the real creature, and the one thing worse than that was two Anti Tyrantrums. That was what was in front of Ash and Misty at that moment.

"Charizard use your Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

Charizard spun to face the Anti Tyrantrum and fired a blazing streak of fire from his mouth. The fires struck one Anti Tyrantrum in its side, the fake Pokémon didn't even cringe. Instead, the monster turned and spewed a stream of viscous purple fluid from under its tongue. Charizard narrowly dodged the stream, as it hit the ground, the crumbling earth corroded away. That was when Ash knew, it was acid, this was something they never used before.

"That never happened before." Ash commented as he looked at the liquefied crater in the ground.

Ash turned to face his enemies, ready to command his loyal Pokémon friends. These terrifying impersonations of vicious prehistoric monsters filled his heart with fear, but knowing that he was protecting Misty helped him overcome his fear.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu jumped forward and released a destructive bolt of electricity from his entire body. The blast struck both Antimon, neither monsters reacted to the thousands of volts coursing through their bodies. When the electricity dissipated, it was revealed that the Anti Tyrantrums had projected red force fields around themselves moments before Pikachu hit them with his Thunderbolt attack.

One Anti Tyrantrum held out his tail, which extended gruesome looking spines from it. With a flick of its tail in a flash of lightning the spines went flying from its tail and straight towards the small humans and Pokémon. They narrowly dodged the lethal spikes targeting them. Ash's greatest fear was their venom, originally the venom of the Antimon was deadly to humans but harmless to Pokémon. However, Giratina could've changed that and Ash was not going to take that risk.

"They've been gaining new powers since Sky Pillar!" Misty warned him.

"How do you know?" Ash asked suspiciously, he had been deceived multiple times by Darkrai and Giratina, he was not going to let that happen again.

"My body may've been trapped, but I was aware of everything that was happening around me, even this weird musical number Giratina had." Misty answered before turning aggravated, "Now run!"

"Never Misty!" Ash shouted back at her in rage, "I failed you once, I will never do it again!"

Ash had to think of a plan fast. They may not have been based off powerful Legendary Pokémon, but they had the form and ferocity of the most vicious Pokémon in the prehistoric world. Once they were through with him and his Pokémon, Misty would obviously be next on their menu. Ash had to save her at any cost. There was one aspect all Antimon had that he could use to his advantage, these twisted monsters couldn't resist a running target.

Without even giving an order to his Pokémon, Ash made a run for the Antimon. No one or nothing could have expected such a bold and stubborn human to make such a cowardly move.

"Hey come and get me!" Ash shouted to the Anti Tyrantrums, waving his hands as he continued running. The Tyrantrums watched him run into the cavern they came from, after a few seconds both charged after him.

"Charizard, Pikachu! Get Misty out of here and go home!" Ash called from inside the cave.

Pikachu and Charizard were aware of what Ash was planning. They so desperately wanted to be by his side to protect him, but his spirit would not be able to rest in peace unless they rescued the one girl that he cared more about than any other human.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Misty shouted in desperation. There was no response from the caves, there was nothing but the growls and hisses of Giratina's children. She couldn't even hear the sounds of Ash's rapid footsteps, it was almost as though something stopped them.

Misty's heart grew heavy, she did not want to accept the obvious. Ash had stood by her ever since he owed her for destroying her bike when they were ten. Although they started off despising each other at first, time would create a bond between them would grow stronger as they travelled together. When she had to return home, not a day went by while Ash travelled through the Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos Region, that he did not miss her, and vice versa. But now that he was gone, it was something Misty could not accept, she could not continue living, knowing that the young man she loved had supposedly perished.

"ASH!"

**Chapter 9**

The skies over Snowpoint City had become shrouded over in swirling black clouds. The sun's pure light could not penetrate this ominous force in the sky. People in the streets gazed up at the sky, it looked like a tornado was about to crash down, but Snowpoint City had never faced tornadoes before. This was not going to deter Officer Jenny from her civic duties.

"All civilians please proceed in doors and do not leave your homes!" The police officer instructed through her megaphone as she rode through the streets on her motorcycle.

Most people did as the officer said and proceeded inside, but there were some very slow people who chose not to go inside and instead kept their gaze focused on the swirling clouds above them. This would be a very grave mistake. Officer Jenny rode right into the middle of this cluster of idiocy and shouted into her megaphone to get their attention.

"Please proceed inside right ..." Her more assertive tone was cut off by a horrific shriek emerging from the centre of the cloud vortex. The roar that shook the officer to her core was followed by a terrifying dragon charging out of the centre of the clouds. The monster had an all grey snake body, with six black tentacles coming off its back, and yellow armor around its head.

The serpentine dragon opened the head plates around its mouth and fired a dark blue Dragon Pulse attack at the humans below it. They scattered away from the Pokémon attack just as it struck the ground in a fiery explosion that could engulf a two story house.

The humans ran for their lives through the streets as the colossal dragon chased after them. It was enormous, far bigger than any Pokémon any of them had ever seen before, and why it was capable of flying above them without wings was an even greater mystery.

The dragon continued to fire Dragon Pulse and Aura Sphere attacks at the mass of humans below it. Fire and powdered burst of snow erupted from the ground where the dragon's devastating blasts struck . The scurrying humans were filled with terror, this was unlike anything they had ever seen before. The satanic dragon enjoyed seeing humans filled with so much fear of it.

Officer Jenny had to act fast if she had any hope of saving the good people of this icy city. She grabbed a PokéBall from out of her pocket and released the Manectric from inside. Her electric canine sat in the side car of her motorcycle as she raced down the road, following the dragon.

"Manectric use Thunderbolt!" Jenny commanded her Pokémon. Manectric fired a blast of lightning from the yellow crest around its head. The blast flew forward and struck the dragon in its side.

The dragon was unfazed by the blast that could've lit up the Christmas tree in front of Rockefeller Center for three years. However, the monster could feel the attack, and was ready to be rid itself of this annoyance. The dragon turned to face its 'attacker', looking at her and her human pet with cold red eyes as it opened its mouth and generated a blue sphere of energy, ready to fire at point blank. There was no way the human could dodge this attack, in just seconds there would be one less human and Pokémon in the world.

"GIRATINA!" Arceus addressed the dragon as he charged through the clouds, flooding the city below with light through one hole. Acting out of instinct, the deity Pokémon rammed himself into Giratina, the impact forced both powerful Pokémon to the ground in a massive crash that kicked up an explosion of snow and dust.

Before the dust could settle, Arceus and Giratina lifted into the air, glaring at each other with hate filled eyes. Arceus did not look as much of a threat as his eighty foot long son, but this little set back was not going to stop Arceus from doing what was right.

The two gods circled one another, planning what moves they were going to make and judging their enemies plan based on their stances. Neither could get a reading on what their enemy was planning. The Alpha Pokémon was uneasy, his loathsome son had taken back the Griseous Orb and that meant Arceus' life plates could not protect him from Giratina's attacks.

Giratina was ready to spill his father's blood in front of the mortified eyes of his children. Arceus was ready for battle, but was not willing to take the life of one of his own creations.

"You cannot do it" Giratina noticed, "You cannot bring yourself to do what is necessary."

"I told you that this battle need not happen" Arceus warned, "but you have one final warning, abandon your dreams of war or I will kill you."

"You're right, this battle need not happen" Giratina coined, "So I will give you a final warning, give me the Jewel of Life or I will kill you and every creature in this city."

Arceus was surprised that Giratina would demand the source of his power out of the blue like this. There was a multitude of reasons why Giratina would want it, the primary and most horrifying reason was also why he did not kill Dawn as soon as she unintentionally lifting his curse, because he still needed her.

"To give you the Jewel of Life is to kill every creature in this world" Arceus harshly responded, "And you are the only one who will die today."

His words final, Arceus released a devastating Hyper Beam from his forehead. The beam charged at Giratina, but had no prevail as it passed through the lord of the void, without harming him, and struck the building behind him, turning it to rubble. So desperate was Arceus to finish his enemy in one move, that he forgot that Hyper Beam was a Normal type move which have no effect against a Ghost Type like Giratina.

"My turn." Giratina mocked before charging at his father, who was regenerating motionless while he regained his strength from using such a powerful Hyper Beam.

The six spikes on the sides of Giratina's body began glowing purple as he slammed them into the side of his father's body. Giratina locked his spikes into Arceus' gold wheel and carried his puny father a great distance. Soon the small city below Arceus disappeared and was replaced by an endless ocean.

Arceus cringed in pain as his son flew past him, spun around and slashed into his other side with his same Dragon Claw attack. Looking at where Giratina struck him the second time, Arceus saw that a green liquid began seeping from his side, it was his blood. If Giratina was out for blood, then the only way Arceus could defeat him was if he acted as violently as his son did, and he knew it.

"Go back to the shadows!" Arceus shouted as he released an Overheat attack from the front of his face. Before the flames could even strike Giratina, they dissipated as their atoms were dispersed across the plain of existence in the blink of an eye.

"Lest you forget Arceus, my antimatter shield protects me from almost all attacks." Giratina boasted.

"And lest you forget, I know every Pokémon attack!" Arceus responded as he released a Shadow Ball attack from the front of his face.

Because this sphere was made of energy, Giratina could not rely on his antimatter barrier to defend him and the blast struck him in the face, inflicting strong damage as the ghost type of Shadow Ball was strong against its own type, which made the Renegade Pokémon roar in pain.

Without a second's hesitation, Giratina fired an Aura Sphere at his creator. The Alpha Pokémon dodged the attack and fired a Dragon Breath attack in return. Once more the energy blast surpassed the test of the antimatter barrier and hit Giratina in his chest, sending the Renegade Pokémon tumbling into the water. The vengeful Pokémon immediately sprung back into the air in a violent upheaval of sea water and roared at his father in rage.

"Prepare for justice!" Arceus shouted as he released a Psy Beam from his eyes. Yet another attack comprised of pure energy which could've proven powerful against the antimatter field, however Giratina was prepared.

"This game has gone on for long enough" Giratina growled, "Now is the time for sudden death."

The Renegade Pokémon dove down into his own shadow and disappeared, evading the Psy Beam attack. Giratina's shadow raced along the ocean, taking on the form of a spear as it moved before ripping itself into the three dimensional world directly below Arceus.

The Alpha Pokémon saw this and narrowly evaded the attack. Arceus knew how lucky he was, that was Giratina's most powerful attack, Shadow Force, and it was known for killing Wailords in just one hit. As the shadow faded, Giratina returned to the battle.

"This battle will never end Giratina, we are equals in strength" Arceus warned.

"Then we shall battle for eternity." Giratina growled with deranged pleasure.

**Chapter 10**

The Anti Tyrantrums had chased Ash over a long distance into the cave. So far the young Trainer had done an excellent job of keeping his distance from the monsters and evading their attacks. But as he got deeper into the caves, they became even darker, which meant the Antimon could use their night vision to their advantage. However, Ash could just as easily sense the aura of the Antimon hunting him, which would allow him to see even in the dark of the cave.

It didn't matter to Ash though, as long as he was sure that his Pokémon would get Misty out safely, then his death would be all the more painless. She meant everything to him and now was his chance to finally make up for the mistake he made of abandoning her.

Ash's thoughts were cut off when he felt himself trip over his own feet and fall to the ground. The darkness of the cave inhibited him from seeing what it was that caused him to fall, but using his aura vision he could sense that the Anti Tyrantrums. They were only a few meters away from him and they could sense that he was down.

The young Trainer knew there was no way to escape, the primordial monsters were too close. By the time he had called out his other Pokémon and commanded them to attack, the Antimon would've sunken their forearm long teeth into his flesh and torn him apart. This would be the end for him, he had travelled to over half a dozen regions and never once did he fulfill his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, but his death would be less painless knowing that Misty was obviously safe and back in the real world. As Ash sensed the corrupt aura of the Antimon as they approached, the young Trainer closed his eyes and awaiting for death to claim him.

However, Ash's moment of awaiting death was cut short by sudden spheres of pure blue aura, that he sensed, flying through the air and striking the Antimon in the sides of their heads. The monsters looked in the direction the Aura Sphere attacks came from. Ash could sense the aura of a Pokémon, the blue outline it generated made the silhouette of a Pokémon that Ash had not seen in many years and had forgotten about it.

The Anti Tyrantrums were quick to recover and they fired devastating shadow beams at the mysterious Pokémon. Its small size protected it as it easily manoeuvred out of the way of the beams of death.

The mysterious Pokémon's fin like hands began glowing as it waved them back and forth in a repetitive motion, Ash recognized this move as Metronome. After waving its hands in a playful motion, the mystery creature fired a Hyper Beam attack from its mouth. The powerful blast struck one Anti Tyrantrum with enough power to desolate its molecular structure and liquefy it.

The second Anti Tyrantrum was unfazed by its partner's death, but their hive mind allowed it to learn that its enemy's Metronome move was quite powerful , making it far deadlier than it first expected. The Antimon slashed out its thirty foot long tongue that wrapped around the mystery Pokémon like a slimy serpent. The beast began pulling the mystery Pokémon towards its open mouth, to be sliced apart by the monsters gruesome looking teeth.

Before Ash could summon his Staraptor to fight back, he sensed another aura that flew through the pitch black cave and rammed into the Anti Tyrantrum. The impact from having its side rammed into caused the monster to release the mystery Pokémon.

"What was that?" Ash asked out loud.

"Someone who's going to kick your ass later!" A familiar voice shouted from above him.

Ash looked to the sound with his normal eyes and saw Red sitting on the back of Chars (Who had Mega Evolved) and holding an unconscious Misty in his arms. Gary was there as well, sitting on the back of Ash's own Charizard. It was obvious that the two Trainers knew what Ash was planning and arrived to assist him.

Pikachu wasted no time in jumping off Chars and running over to his Trainer. Ash was joyous to see his oldest friend and gave the small Electric Type a caring hug, to show his care for Pikachu. However, the moment did not last long when Ash saw Misty's condition.

"Is Misty okay?" Ash called up.

"She's fine, no need to worry." Red reassured.

"Yes need to worry!" Gary shouted to both Red and Ash as he pointed to the downed Antimon, "That thing is getting back up!"

The Anti Tyrantrum wasted no time in getting back to its feet and spewing a stream of acid at Charizard. Ash's fiery Pokémon narrowly evaded the attack, while keeping Gary safe on his back.

"Okay then, if that's how you want to play, Charizard use Slash to take out its acid sacks." Gary ordered.

Charizard flew forward and dived below the Antimon's neck and slashed underneath it. Acid spilled out of the wound, though the Anti Tyrantrum could not feel it, and as it splashed to the ground it sizzled and dissolved the very terrain they were standing on.

"My turn, Chars use Rock Smash!" Red ordered his steed.

For the first time ever, Chars did not follow his Trainer's orders, instead it did something else. The blue flame on the end of Char's tail grew to enormous size, engulfing his entire tail. The Mega evolved Charizard then released a torrential blast of blue fire from his mouth that vastly expanded in a triangular shape as it travelled through the air. Red recognized this attack, and was glad that Chars did not obey his command. It meant that Chars had traded Rock Smash in favor of this, the most powerful fire type move in existence.

"That's Blast Burn." Red commented.

The vicious attack, engulfed the Anti Tyrantrum, all but certainly destroying it. At the same time, the light of the flames was almost blinding as it illuminated the entire cave. Ash caught a glimpse of the Pokémon who saved them and recognized it immediately.

"Hey you're Misty's Togetic!" Ash addressed. Ash remembered how much Misty loved this small Pokémon, and when it had to leave it took a part of her with it.

"Misty's going to be thrilled to see you again." Ash commented.

For a split seconds, Red and Gary could see that the walls of the cave were lined with a peculiar black substance. At first Red was unsure of what it was, so he used his aura power to truly see what it was. They were surrounded by their enemies.

"Time to go" Red ordered. Ash and Pikachu took to Charizard's back with Gary and they were off, while Togetic followed with them.

As the two Charizards flew through the stagnant air of the Distortion World, a sound of malicious shrieks and roars came from behind them . The Trainers turned their heads in unison and they saw thousands of Antimon moving in their direction. Some were running and leaping across floating land masses and others were flying after them. The worst factor was that they were gaining speed.

"Pikachu use Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu generated a large sphere of electric energy on the end of his tail and flung it at the swarm of Antimon flying towards them. Several were struck and terminated, dozens were terminated in the explosion that followed after. But this did very little to lower the numbers of their enemy.

"I can see it, the portal's still open!" Gary called to the others, from his perch on Charizard's shoulders, "it doesn't look like it's closed at all."

"And we know why" Red warned, "Giratina left it open so his army could get into the real world."

"Then let's get through there before they do." Ash decided boldly. With that in mind, Chars and Charizard began flying even faster.

Within seconds they dashed though the portal and after a short period of flying through a dimensional tunnel, they returned to the Pokémon World, surrounded by their companions. Delia was quick to greet her son as he returned.

"Ash, I'm so glad you're safe!" Delia cried as she wrapped her arms around her son and held him tight.

"I'm fine, but Misty needs some help." Ash pleaded as Red stepped off Brock and passed the still dormant Misty over to Brock. The Pokémon doctor took a small glimpse at his old friend before giving a diagnosis.

"Okay, then your grounded for thirty years." Delia joked as she let go of her son.

"She'll be fine, she just needs some rest." Brock reassured.

"Is that Misty's Togetic?" May addressed the Pokémon that was hovering over them.

"Yeah, it saved me from being eaten." Ash answered.

"How did it get here?" Max asked.

"We can get to that later, right now we have other problems" Red warned as he called back his exhausted Chars, "There are thousands of Antimon heading to the portal right now."

"What do we do?" May asked nervously, as her eyes darted around in her head.

"We stand our ground and fight!" Dawn decided boldly. Before any of them could call out another Pokémon, a multitude of Antimon came ripping through the portal.

"Oh my" Johanna whispered. Terror and fear overwhelmed each of the living beings. While most of them had seen Antimon before, they had never combated this many before. In just seconds the humans and their Pokémon were outnumbered a hundred to one, and more were still coming through the portal.

"Anyone who wants to leave, do it now!" Red demanded as he released Aero and Poli from their PokéBalls and began commanding them to attack. Everyone looked at one another, despite their growing fear none of them were ready to abandon the battle for the Pokémon World. They each grabbed a PokéBall and released their Pokémon for warfare.

**Chapter 11**

The halls of the Palace of Light were polluted with warfare. The Trainers and their Pokémon's battle against the Antimon had spread from the now eradicated prayer chamber, to everywhere in the palace and the landscape around it.

It was the single most explosive and violent battle Dawn had ever seen. While she used her powers to heal an injured Misty, her friends battled against armies of darkness without any sense of honor or mercy. This war was too important, they had to attack as ruthlessly as their opponents were.

It weighed on her heart to see what her "brother's" cruelty had brought. His hatred for their father had revealed the violent side of her friends that they never wanted to reveal to anyone. She could not sit by and watch her friends risk their lives, while she did nothing.

"I've got to do something." Dawn said to herself. In an instant, she remembered the battle at Sky Pillar, the Antimon perished as soon as they heard the sound of the Azure Flute. Frantically, Dawn ran out to the top of the large stairway in the main hall, her hand scrambled around the inside of her bag until her fingertips brushed its surface. Dawn grabbed it and ripped it free from her bag.

"There's no way they can stop us as long as we use this." Dawn said to herself as she began playing. Before she could even get in three notes, Darkrai materialized a few meters behind her.

The Pitch Black Pokémon held out his hand and silently began to generate a black and red Shadow Ball. The disciple of Giratina held back his hand and prepared to throw it. This did not escape Red's gaze as he had learned to always observe his surroundings when in combat.

"Look out!" Red shouted as he lunged forward and pushed his childhood friend out of the way.

Mere moments later, Darkrai pitched his Shadow Ball in their direction. The attack struck the ground in a massive explosion which propelled the two Sinnoh born Trainers into the air and spiralling to the ground. Luckily Aero had just destroyed an Anti Moltres when he spotted his Trainer and the priestess falling to their deaths.

The prehistoric Pokémon flew underneath Dawn to catch her, while gently grabbing Red with his claws. Aero then lowered his body to the ground and released his master, while Dawn gently climbed down.

"Good work Aero, now keep fighting." Red commanded, the prehistoric Pokémon did as it was told and took flight. The Ultimate Pokémon Master then turned his attention towards Dawn, who was holding the shattered remains of the Azure Flute in her hands.

"Are you alright Dawn?" The Champion Trainer asked.

"I did this" Dawn whimpered as tears ran from her eyes, "I freed Giratina, I brought on this war, it's my fault."

Dawn began glowing once more, and as the glow faded, it revealed that Dawn had rid herself of the dress she created and replaced it with her original attire, minus the hat.

"I was being arrogant, I don't deserve to be Arceus' daughter." She added

"You aren't to blame, Giratina played us all." Red argued as he put a caring hand on her shoulder, "But the past is in the past, I finally understand that, and now that war is on our hands, it's our job to finish it. Your so-called brother has to pay for his crimes."

As Red began feeling remorse for calling Giratina her brother, Dawn was reminded that Giratina was not her only "brother" . In her mind, Arceus' flaw was believing that he had to fight this battle alone.

"That's it, Red you're a genius!" Dawn shouted joyously as she turned and began running up the grand staircase.

"Dawn wait, where are you going?!" Red shouted to her as she climbed the stairs. her run was halted only by the rise of Darkrai from the shadows in the steps.

"Now you will join the universe." The Pitch Black Pokémon said as he prepared to attack, only to be intercepted by a Discharge attack from Pachirisu. Darkrai was stunned, but quickly shook it off and prepared to attack, but was met by a Focus Punch to the face from Poli

"Go Dawn, I'll keep Darkrai here!" Red shouted from the top the staircase. Because Chars was standing next to him, it was safe for Dawn to assume that Red used the fire type to fly above to the landing, for this exact reason.

While the Pokémon Master kept the nightmare king at bay, Dawn grabbed Piplup and made a mad dash to the prayer chamber to put her plan into action. As not to waste precious time, she called out her Togekiss and it flew her to the chamber.

Finally reaching the chamber, Dawn ran over to whatever remained of the altar. Using her powers she pieced it back together as best she could. It was missing a few shards that were vaporized when Giratina materialized in the Pokémon World, but it was the best she could do. The young priestess then kneeled before it and began to pray.

"Dialga, Palkia, brothers, I need you." Dawn whispered.

Soon her mind took her to an endless white void. There was nothing as far as the eye can see but whiteness everywhere around her. There was no ground below her either, she remained levitating in mid air.

"Why have we been summoned?" A powerful voice echoed from behind her.

Dawn turned, expecting to see Dialga and Palkia, instead she saw the Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb, Dialga and Palkia's items which granted them each special powers. Dawn had heard that they disappeared several years after the events at Mt. Coronet, obviously she deduced that Dialga and Palkia confiscated them after seeing humans misuse them.

"Father needs your help, he is in battle with Giratina and our brother has the Griseous Orb." Dawn explained.

"And of whose authority do you own, that you may command us!" The Adamant Orb demanded fiercely.

"I'm the one who awakened Father, your lost sister. I'm the one the prophecy said would come." Dawn explained.

"You speak of Arceus as though he is your father, and use as if we were siblings." The Lustrous Orb commented, "Clearly you would not speak such blasphemy and be able to contact us, lest you truly were our lost sister."

"Exactly, that means you should help right?" Dawn asserted.

"Arceus lied to us many eons ago and forced us to never meet one another!" The Adamant Orb roared as it began glowing red, "Why should we rescue this traitor from the darkness he spawned?"

"He's your father!" Dawn shouted, shocked that these two Pokémon who saved humanity from Giratina would not help their own creator.

"It matters not who he is, Arceus exiled us, before your reality could be filled with life!" The Adamant Orb shouted, "He craved power and glory like an illness, and assumed that we would take that from him. So he cast us out!"

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked. She had no clue what Dialga's power source was saying, from what Professor Carolina said, Arceus blessed the Creation trio with their worlds so they could always look over the Pokémon World.

"I will explain" The Lustrous Orb commented, "In the beginning there was only a churning turmoil of chaos. At the heart of this chaos, where all things became one, appeared an egg. Having tumbled from the vortex, the egg gave rise to the Original One. From itself, three beings the Original One did make. Time started to spin, space began to expand, and the void between space and time was born. However these three were not without rivalry and so began to jostle for power, moments past birth. From itself again, three living things did the Original One make, and through them the fighting beings were soothed. The three beings then sent by the Original One they were to different worlds to end the first ever war. But the being of void's heart fell heavy with betrayal and swore down the Original One, demanding vengeance from then on."

Slowly Dawn began piecing the fable together in her mind using her intuition and what she had read from ancient texts. What the Lustrous Orb was saying was that when Arceus created Dialga, Palkia and Giratina they began fighting. To stop them from fighting, Arceus created the lake guardians and they quelled the fighting titans, but to make sure they couldn't fight again Arceus sent them to different worlds where they would never see one another again.

"That wasn't Arceus' fault though" Dawn protested, "You three were the ones who just began fighting without reason. Think about how much you could've destroyed."

"There was nothing to destroy!" The Adamant Orb responded, "This was before any kind of life aside us. Our power was unparalleled and Arceus believed it to be the end of his reign, should man ever see."

"This had nothing to do with power, there was no reason for you three to fight!" dawn angrily responded.

"I will agree sister, that our fighting was to no prevail and of no purpose" The Lustrous Orb started, "But Arceus as well committed crimes and has yet to answer for him. Giratina wants nothing more than Arceus' death. Once Arceus has been brought to justice, then our brother will cease his destruction and return to his poisoned home."

"How can you say that?! This isn't justice, this is revenge!" dawn shouted to her brothers spiritual forms. They orbs gave her no response, they were unmoved by her anger.

"Father knows what he did was wrong and now he's risking his life to make amends for it." Dawn answered, still no response from the two Time-Space orbs. How could they stand there saying that they are superior to their own father, when they just stand by while he suffers, looking for their forgiveness.

"If you can't forgive him, then you can't call yourselves gods." Dawn warned.

**Chapter 12**

Brock used to be a strong Gym Leader, so he was used to enduring powerful battles, but never had he nor his Pokémon had to face a battle as vicious as this. His Onix and Geodude were fighting with great ferocity to keep back the Antimon that were facing them in the courtyard. Outgunned and outnumbered twenty to one, his defeat was all but certain were it not for the intervention of Lyra's Girafarig and May's Mega Evolved Blaziken. Working together the two girls succeeded in taking down the soldiers of darkness with the help of Brock.

"Thanks for the save." Brock commented as he shook Lyra's hand.

"That's what I'm here for." Lyra reassured. Their moment of glory was cut short by a terrifying roar coming from the far side of the castle wall. It was Kyurem, the real Kyurem.

"Oh great, him again." May moaned, remembering the terror that beast had brought on them.

"With Giratina gone, Kyurem seems to be leading them." Brock inferred. With that in mind, the Pokémon doctor came to a conclusion.

"We have to get rid of him once and for all."

"How are we going to do that?" May asked.

"We'll push him into the moat around the island" Brock explained pointing to a statue of Palkia on the castle wall, "Me and my Pokémon will be up there and we'll push that statue on top of him, keeping him pinned under the water. Lyra. your job is to stay on the wall with me and signal when Kyurem is directly below me. Now for some bait."

Both Brock and Lyra, and their Pokémon turned to look at May. The princess of Hoenn was too busy looking at the statue puzzled by which Pokémon it was, before she turned to see the eyes on her.

"No! Absolutely not! I will not do this!" May protested.

Moments later, May was walking around the shore of the lake at the bottom of the wall. She still had no idea how they managed to convinced her to go through with this insane idea. When she could see Kyurem directly above her, she screeched at the top of her lungs and then ducked into the shadow the wall casted. Kyurem's head shot up and he began looking around as to where the scream came from, before taking flight and fading from May's point of view. May peered out of the shadows, there was no sign of Kyurem anymore.

"Where did he go?" May asked out loud. Her answer came to her moments ago when Kyurem jumped down behind her in his white form and bellowed at her.

May sprinted between his legs and began running to the designated kill spot. Kyurem chased after her, running as opposed to flying. The Boundary Pokémon slipped on the slippery rocks around the shore and tumbled to the ground. As the Ice Dragon fell to the ground, he began sliding into the water, pushing May in with him with his gigantic body mass. From the castle wall, Brock and Lyra could see what happened.

"May!" Brock and Lyra shouted in unison. May's head sprouted out of the water as she began swimming to the coastline. In a violent upheaval of water, Kyurem resurfaced and continued chasing May.

"Now come on Onix, Geodude, push with everything you've got!" Brock commanded his Pokémon as the three of them began pushing against the twenty foot statue, however it refused to budge.

In a desperate effort to save May, Lyra picked up a rock and pitched it at Kyurem. The rock hit Kyurem in his head, the rock was too small to hurt the titan, but it did get his attention. Lyra began blowing raspberries and waving her hands at Kyurem in a foolish effort to get him away from May. In a fit of rage, Kyurem slammed his skull against the wall. The vibrations threw off Lyra's balance and she fell off the wall towards Kyurem's open, awaiting mouth.

"Lyra! No!" Brock shouted in fear as he watched her fall to her doom. Inches away from death, she was rescued by Misty's Togetic who grabbed Lyra by the collar of her red jacket and began carrying her back to the wall.

"Thanks little guy" Lyra said as Togetic brought her back to safety, "Now go save May."

"Soon please!" May shouted upward as Kyurem began closing in on her. Using its speed, Togetic swooped out of the air and grabbed May, carrying her to safety.

In his unbridled rage, Kyurem changed his form once again to that of his black form and took to the air, charging at the statue of Palkia.

"Everyone get behind the statue!" Brock shouted to Lyra, May and their Pokémon. Kyurem lunged at the statue, the impact shifted the statue in place, but it couldn't be moved while Kyurem had grabbed onto it. Lyra saw it however as an advantage to ensure that Kyurem couldn't get away.

"Meganium use your Vine Whips and pin Kyurem to the statue!" Lyra commanded to her Pokémon. Meganium did this, wrapping its vines around the statue and Kyurem, tight as to ensure Giratina's commander couldn't escape.

"Now detach your vines!" Lyra commanded. It was quite odd of her to make this kind of a command to her Pokémon, but she knew that it wouldn't hurt Meganium the vines could regenerate. Her Grass Type Pokémon obeyed and swung its body hard and the vines were ripped off.

"Now let's push!" May ordered as she began pushing the statue. It was no good, as long as Kyurem's weight was added onto the already heavy statue, there was no way to move it.

"Need some help?" A voice offered from behind them. Brock, Lyra and May looked to see Misty standing on the wall.

"Misty! You're okay!" Brock noted aloud, joyous to see that she had fully recuperated.

"Alive and well" Misty commented as she opened one of her PokéBalls revealing her powerful Gyarados, "Gyarados, use Hyper Beam and knock the statue off its base!"

The colossal sea serpent unleashed its devastating Hyper Beam from its mouth that struck the base of the statue just as the humans evaded the attack. The shock wave that followed helped push them to safety. The statue was ripped from the wall and was on very unstable ground. This, coupled with the added weight of Kyurem, was enough to send both falling over the edge. The Ice Dragon's roar echoed through the air as he fell. Lyra was also on a very unstable part of the wall, and the ground beneath her feet crumbled.

"No Lyra!" Brock shouted as he desperately lunged to grab her, to no prevail.

"If I must join the universe, then so will one of you!" Kyurem thundered as he fell.

Lyra's screams of terror echoed down the wall as well as Kyurem slammed his jaws down around her leg, ensuring both their demises. The Ice Dragon fell into the deep waters below in a violent splash that sent tidal waves against the sides of the wall. There was no sign of movement from under the waves, from neither Kyurem or Lyra.

"I never even got a chance to know her." Misty commented as she, May and Brock looked over the edge with their Pokémon.

"She risked her life to save us." Brock mourned.

"Good night, sweet princess." May finalized.

The Trainers and their Pokémon began walking back slowly, when Onix heard a sound coming from below the water. Without even thinking, the rock snake leapt off the wall and into the waters below, paying no mind to the suicidal risk.

"Onix what're you doing?!" Brock shouted to his Pokémon as it dove below the waves, "Onix will drown in just a few minutes!"

"Gyarados, help Onix!" Misty commanded her most powerful Pokémon. Gyarados nodded and jumped into the moat after its ally.

After just a few seconds, Gyarados emerged from the water, helping Onix by keeping its body below his and pushing him to the surface. On top of Onix's head was someone no one was expecting but thrilled to see.

"It's Lyra!" May addressed, "She's alive!"

It was indeed Lyra, unconscious but still alive, based on her breathing.

"Onix conquered his fear of water, just to bring her back in one piece." Brock commended.

"Well, most of her." Misty commented as she noted Lyra's small condition.

**Chapter 13**

Of all the Pokémon Red had faced, Darkrai was the most powerful yet. The Pokémon was capable of diving into the shadows to avoid Red's attacks and to surprise attack him. The Pitch Black Pokémon's cowardice infuriated the Pokémon Master, this servant of Giratina had no honor and was showing it.

"If you have any kind of courage you'd attack me head on you coward!" Red shouted to his invisible nemesis.

"If I was to attack you head on then there would be no fun in watching you struggle." Darkrai taunted, his voice echoing from everywhere. Taking pity on his opponent, Darkrai rose out of the shadows in front of Red and Pika.

"Now Pika, use Thunder!" Red commanded his Pokémon companion. The scarred Pikachu fired a thrilling blast of lightning at Darkrai who simply dove down into the shadows again, evading the attack.

"How I love watching you squirm boy, but it's time to end the games." Darkrai taunted from the shadows. Again he emerged, but this time he fired a Dark Pulse attack which struck the ground in front of Red and Pika, sending both flying. Darkrai hovered towards his two opponents and towered over them, ready to strike a final blow.

"My favorite part of the game, sudden death." Darkrai quoted as he prepared to strike, when suddenly a voice called out to him.

"Darkrai, stop this madness now!" The nightmare king looked forward to see Cresselia hovering not that far away from him.

Darkrai was petrified at the sight of Cresselia before him. He did not fear her so much as fear battling her. it was the one thing he would regret ever having to do. His cold withered heart still had strong feelings for her and he could not bring himself to destroy her.

"Stay out of this Cresselia, I have a duty to fulfill!" Darkrai barked at the Lunar Pokémon.

"Your duty is to yourself Darkrai, not to this madman Giratina." Cresselia offered, "I feel your pain my friend, let me help you and together we can rid you of this plague."

"You know nothing of the pain I have endured! So do not act like you do!" Darkrai roared back as he threw a Shadow Ball at Cresselia.

The Lunar Pokémon dodged the attack and fired a pink Energy Ball from her mouth which hit Darkrai in his chest and pushed him to the ground. Darkrai got back up and fired a Dark Pulse attack from his combined hands.

Cresselia knew she couldn't dodge this and so used Protect and put a barrier around herself, Red and Pika. Once the barrier dissipated, Cresselia prepared to bomb Darkrai with a barrage of Razor Wind attacks, but was intercepted when Darkrai threw another Shadow Ball at her, and it struck her in her chest forcing her out the window of the palace.

Darkrai chased after her, firing Dark Pulse attacks from both his hands at Cresselia, who once again used Protect to create a barrier for defense. The barrier passed and Cresselia threw a Razor Wind disc at Darkrai, this one hit him in his left arm, and caused him to cringe in pain.

"I have seen the true power of darkness and fear Cresselia." Darkrai warned, "I can sense yours, but shall we see what your greatest nightmare is?"

Darkrai held out his hand and threw a glowing black sphere of energy from it. Cresselia recognized this attack as his Dark Void. If she was hit by this then she would lapse into endless sleep and be plagued by the most horrific of nightmares, giving Darkrai the chance to strike a fatal blow. Narrowly, the Lunar Pokémon evaded the attack in time to fire another Energy Ball at Darkrai.

Darkrai did not move out of the way of the attack, instead he held out both his hands and fired a Dark Pulse. The Dark Pulse caught the Energy Ball and pushed it towards Cresselia. The elegant Pokémon was hit by her own attack and Darkrai's. The double blow sent Cresselia tumbling to the ground in pain.

"You are afraid of me Darkrai I can sense it." Cresselia commented as her friend turned nemesis hovered over her.

"I am the master of fear, I do not fear anything!" Darkrai snapped back, "How dare you assume that I am weak!"

"Fear does not make you weak, it makes you string to know what you are afraid of." Cresselia offered, "Hiding your fears is true weakness."

"With your passing, Lunar creature, I will have nothing to fear" Darkrai responded coldly as he prepared to fire a Shadow ball at point blank.

"Correction, you'll have to fear this!" Red shouted from behind them. Darkrai turned around to see Mega Chars X fire a Blast Burn attack at him with significant force.

The Blast Burn pushed Darkrai along a great distance. Summoning his dwindling strength, Darkrai looked behind himself to see how the direction was being pushed. The Pitch Black Pokémon saw that he was only a few meters away from the base of the Gravity Pillar. Before he could fight back, Darkrai was pushed into the pillar and began rocketing up towards its crushing center. His screams of terror echoed across the ruins of the Palace of Light as his battle ended.

"If you live long enough to fear" Red finished.

** Chapter 14**

Dawn's prayer was interrupted by a sound of violent crashing emanating from outside the prayer chamber. She looked out through the crater left by Giratina to see that Arceus and Giratina had plowed through the ceiling of the cave and began falling to the ground below them. The two gods crashed to the palace below, crushing several Antimon below their gargantuan mass.

The two titans took to the sky again, firing Dragon Pulse and Aura Sphere attacks at one another. Most of them time they would avoid the attacks, and the blasts would instead hit the palace around them.

"Your children have slandered the gift of life with their mistakes" Giratina snapped at his father.

"I do not see them making mistakes, I see them learning how not to live." Arceus responded as he fired a Thunder attack from the four points on his golden wheel.

Giratina narrowly avoided the electric shock as he dove down into his own shadow. Arceus knew that he was planning to use his Shadow Force and began lifting himself high into the air as to avoid the lethal attack.

"That is a matter of perspective." Giratina's voice echoed as his shadow rose up in the form of a spear. Arceus had miscalculated the distance Shadow Force could elevate, and the shadowy spear rammed into Arceus' underbelly. The blow forced Arceus out of the sky and the Alpha Pokémon crashed to the ground.

"Father no!" Dawn screamed as she watched her father be inflicted with a mortal wound.

The deity Pokémon was in so much pain that he could not even howl in agony. All Arceus could do was cringe in pain as he laid on the ground, while his blood poured from his wound. As his life ebbed away, the Alpha Pokémon looked back on where and how he could have gone wrong in this battle.

Giratina had gotten far stronger through the centuries than Arceus could ever have imagined. His son had nothing to hold him back in this fight, while Arceus struggled to protect the humans and Pokémon while fending off the Renegade Pokémon. The lord of the void used this to his advantage, ensuring that his father did not use the full extent of his power, while he himself was free to use every last bit of it.

"And low and behold, how the great king of the Gods has fallen." Giratina mocked as he levitated over his father.

"Kill me if you wish Giratina, but it will not slate your hunger for revenge" Arceus warned.

"You're right it won't" Giratina reasoned, "That is why I won't stop until everything you have created dies with you."

Before Giratina could attack, he was halted by a Discharge attack to the side of his head. The ancient evil looked to see Dawn running up to and between Arceus and Giratina, with Pachirisu running next to her.

"Leave him alone Giratina!" Dawn pleaded her fierce opponent, "I'm begging you, from a sister to a brother, look at what your anger has done to you! Arceus banished you and your brothers to different worlds, it was a mistake but that doesn't mean he has to die for it!"

"It is not exile that he must die for, it was for making the mistake of creating at all. Creation is the greatest of temptations and he who is supposed to be perfect, fell to its seduction." Giratina growled before preparing to use a Dragon Pulse attack. Dawn stopped him once more with her pleading.

"Giratina this is just too evil, you can't do this!" Dawn's words stuck with the dark one, for his eyes then began glowing with rage.

"Let me tell you what evil is!" Giratina roared down to the puny human, "Forcing three young creatures into exile and then make two of them out to be heroes while the third is antagonized and turned into a monster by propaganda! Now justice will be given to those who have been wronged, and no being, neither god or man will stand in my way, especially you."

Giratina opened his mouth and prepared to unleash a devastating Dragon Pulse attack and wipe the universe of his two greatest annoyances.

"Prepare to become one with the universe!" Before Giratina could attack, the sound of rushing aura echoed through the air. The Renegade Pokémon looked up in time to see a pink Aura Sphere strike him dead center in his face and send him flying back and falling to the ground.

As Giratina began getting back into the air, he was bombed by a barrage of Draco Meteor attacks. Explosions shrouded over Giratina's form, but his roars of pain let the humans and Pokémon around him know that he was still alive. There was no possible way that Arceus could use both Aura Sphere and Draco Meteor, while he was dying. Unless those attacks came from two different Pokémon, instead of Giratina's father.

"It can't be" Giratina said to himself.

An enormous Pokémon landed in front of Arceus and Dawn. It was white and pink, built like a carnivorous dinosaur, with an very elongated neck and wings on its back. Brock and Lyra were standing on the outer wall of the palace fending off Antimon when they saw this creature appear.

"Is that..." Lyra began, before Brock finished.

"The Pokémon god of space; Palkia."

Dawn had seen Palkia long before, but he appeared and left so quickly that it was almost like a dream to her. Still, it was miraculous for her to see such a powerful Pokémon in her midst. However, Dawn remembered her wounded father and as such called on her powers, and she healed the lethal injury in Arceus' stomach.

"You came to help me?" Arceus asked, quite surprised, "After all I did to you and your brothers?"

"To error is human, to forgive is divine." Palkia commented, Dawn recognized the voice from her vision, the voice from the Lustrous Orb.

"Brother, if you stand by Arceus then you will die with him." Giratina warned as he returned to the air.

"Surrender now brother, or prepare to fight!" Another voice called from behind Giratina.

The voice came from another Pokémon, this one had a blue sauropod design. It had an elongated cranium, was covered in silver armor and had a large sail on its back. Red was the one who labelled this divine behemoth first.

"The Pokémon who created time; Dialga."

"Then I will kill all of you and hold no remorse!" Giratina roared as he charged at Dialga. Once he got close enough he fired an Aura Sphere from his mouth. Being so close, it successfully struck Dialga in his chest and sent the Pokémon back.

Palkia put his hands together, from between his hands an pink Aura Sphere was generated. The Spatial Pokémon then flung the Aura Sphere at Giratina. Using his manoeuvrable form, Giratina easily dodged the attack and charged at Palkia, while readying his Dragon Claw for combat.

Arceus intervened by ramming into Giratina's side, pushing the Renegade Pokémon towards Dialga who fired a Flash Cannon attack. Despite being a Steel Type move, it breached Giratina's antimatter barrier and struck him in his back.

From one of the tower windows, the Team Rocket trio watched the four gods wage their three on one war. James had fortunately, brought his Nikon camera and was taking pictures of the entire battle.

"Could this get any better?" James asked.

"Yeah, not only have we got Arceus and Giratina to nab, but now we've got another chance to score Dialga and Palkia!" Meowth proclaimed with joy.

"Now then let's get to work" Jessie decided as she pulled out a rocket launcher. The weapon was loaded with sticky bombs, to cover the fighting Pokémon's limbs and mouths as to better capture them.

"Make this shot and our future's as good as gold" Meowth offered to Jessie.

On the battlefield, a black aura began to form around Giratina's face. From this aura hundreds of Draco Meteors came flying out in all directions. The brunt of the attack was taken by Dialga, Palkia and Arceus. However, there were some that struck the palace around the lord of the void.

One meteor hit the tower the Team Rocket trio was hiding in and the ground began to crumble below their feet. One by one, Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet fell out of the tower, rocketing down towards the battle scarred ground below them.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The three members said in unison as they fell into a cloud of dust, that hanged over the ground.

Another Draco Meteor was charging towards Dawn. No matter how far she ran, she couldn't get out of the way of the devastating attack that was coming towards her. Moments before dying by the hands of Giratina, Chars flew down, with Red on his back and grabbed Dawn and Piplup. The Flame Pokémon swung its arms up and tossed Dawn and Piplup onto his back.

"Are you okay?" Red asked as he sat in front, looking behind himself at the young Priestess.

"I am now, thanks Red" Dawn answered.

"As long as Giratina has that antimatter barrier around himself, there's no way any of our Pokémon can hurt him." Red complained.

"That's not true, Pachirisu used Discharge and that seemed to affect him." Dawn answered.

"Maybe that's because electricity is energy and it's impossible to destroy energy." Red theorized, "So Ghost, Dragon, Electric and Fairy type attacks will definitely affect him."

"And I noticed that Palkia's Aura Sphere and Dialga's Flash Cannon hurt him." Dawn added, "And they're both energy based attacks."

"So now that we know what attacks will hurt him, we'll have to go overboard on them." The Pokémon Master concluded. Dialga flew right beside Chars, matching the smaller Pokémon in speed as it looked down at Dawn and Red.

"Your tactic is valiant but flawed, because Giratina can be harmed by these attacks does not mean he can be defeated by them." Dialga warned.

"So what am I supposed to do, just sit by and watch you, Palkia and father risk your lives fighting him?" Dawn asked agitated.

"No, it will take the united power of all four of us, myself, Palkia, father and even you." Dialga answered.

"So what do you need me to do?" Dawn asked, joyous to hear that her destiny did not end with just awakening her father.

"Giratina's continual assault has impaired your progress in your training." Dialga explained, "You are far from being ready to face our brother."

"What?" Red asked, with shocked anger in his voice, "She touched across dimensions to awaken Arceus and to call on you two to fight Giratina. What else is there for her to learn?!"

"There is much that you must lear* Look out!" Dialga's words were halted by Giratina firing an Aura Sphere attack at Dialga.

Acting on instinct, Dialga called upon his greatest power. His eyes began to glow orange, the diamond in his chest began to glow blue. The sail on Dialga's back began to expand. He opened his mouth and generated an indigo ball of energy. A powerful indigo beam charged out of the ball, it struck the Aura Sphere and destroyed it in a massive explosion that shrouded out Giratina. The move gave Red and Dawn chills, they had never seen an attack with this kind of power and ferocity. The power of time itself had just been unleashed.

"Roar of Time." Dawn addressed. It was clear though that it took a great deal of Dialga's strength to sue that attack, as the Pokémon paused in mid flight to regain strength.

As the dust settled, Giratina reappeared with his body wrapped around Palkia. The Spatial Pokémon roared and shrieked in pain as Giratina drove his spikes into his prey's body. The Renegade Pokémon swung his body forward and pitched Palkia at Dialga, taking advantage of his immobilized opponent's state.

Palkia slammed into Dialga and the two Pokémon fell out of the sky and crashed to the ground. Dawn looked down in terror as both her brothers were laying motionless.

"Palkia! Dialga!" Dawn screamed as Chars dove down towards them. Before Chars' feet even got to the ground, Dawn jumped off and ran towards them. Palkia quickly got back to his feet and took to the sky, while Dialga still lay on the ground.

Giratina looked at the injured Temporal Pokémon, with joy at seeing the state his brother was in, but it wasn't over he wanted to kill the traitor. Palkia flew in front of the charging Pokémon and readied to attack. Like Dialga, Palkia's eyes began glowing orange, but the pearls on his shoulders were glowing pink. The Spatial Pokémon held out his glowing right arm and slashed the air in front of him, releasing a Pink crescent blade of energy that flew forward and struck Giratina in his face sending him back. Ash and Pikachu saw this from a window inside the palace as they were fending off Antimon, with a still unconscious Misty behind him.

"That had to be Spatial Rend." Ash addressed.

Dawn ran up to Dialga, who still lay on the ground, not moving at all.

"Dialga, please talk to me!" Dawn as she put her hand on his large face. Dialga's eye snapped open and he looked down at the girl below him.

"I am well sister." Dialga reassured as he staggered to get back to his feet.

"Why did you use Roar of Time when you knew you would have to rest before attacking again. You could've easily used another attack to block it?!" Dawn asked angrily.

"I wanted to protect you and not take any chances." Dialga explained.

Dawn felt sorry for raising her voice to the Steel Dragon, when he just wanted to keep her safe. It sounded a lot like something that Red would've done if he had the kind of power Dialga had.

"You said she has a lot to learn before she can help you guys defeat Giratina?" Red asked as he and Piplup walked up to the Pokémon ruler of space.

"Your lessons are far from over my sister" Dialga explained, "You have much to learn, but it can't be done here."

"You will stay and accept uniting with the universe!" Giratina roared as he flew over Dialga, preparing to use another Draco Meteor attack.

"Not on this day!" Arceus shouted as he jumped between Giratina and Dialga, his body began glowing gold. Giratina recognized the attack his father was going to use and immediately turned to flee.

"You must act now Dialga!" Arceus said as he released a gold orb up into the air that exploded into thousands of golden orbs, streaking through the air. The orbs began to chase down Giratina. The Renegade Pokémon tried his best to outrace the attack, but they were slowly closing in. Dawn wanted to see this attack destroy Giratina, but was intervened by Dialga.

The Temporal Pokémon lifted his head and let loose a deafening roar into the air. It was unbearable for Dawn, Red, Piplup and Chars to hear. The four creatures below the god of time grabbed their ears and turned their heads away from him. Suddenly a blue glow began to form around Dawn and Piplup, the horrifyingly deafening shriek faded from their ears, so did the world around them.

From what Red saw, Dawn and Piplup were beginning to disappear. The Pokémon Master had no clue what was happening and frankly was not ready to take any chances. Red ran towards his fading friend, hoping to pull her out of the blue glow coming from the ground.

"What's happening?" Dawn asked out loud.

"Hang on Dawn I'm coming!" Red shouted as he leapt towards Dawn and Piplup. In a bright flash of light, the glow was gone and so was Dawn and Piplup. Red fell to the ground with a large thud.

Red looked around in hopes of seeing Dawn and Piplup somewhere close, they were gone. Filled with anger and a sense of defeat, the Pokémon Master did all that he felt he could do and scream into the sky in sorrow. Ash, Pikachu, Gary and Johanna ran to Red and Dialga to respond to what they had just seen.

"Red, are you okay?" Ash asked.

"What happened?" Gary asked.

"Dialga" Red answered coldly. All eyes turned to Dialga, not a single one was filled with joy, only a mix of sorrow and rage. Johanna stepped before the Temporal Pokémon, to give her step-brother a piece of her mind.

"What did you do to my daughter?!" Johanna shouted, tears pouring from her eyes like the waterfall that concealed the entrance to the Palace of Light.

"She has been sent to train with her sisterhood." Dialga answered.

Johanna fell to her knees, holding Dawn's hat in her hands. She knew where Dialga sent Dawn, and was grief stricken. Where her daughter had been sent, there was no way for her to come back. She would never see her daughter again, and she didn't get a chance to tell her that she loved her, or how she truly felt.

"I'm sorry Dawn" Johanna whimpered to herself, "Please come back, please."

Red refused to accept what he and Johanna were simultaneously thinking. Even though he knew it to be a fact, he did not want to accept that he may never see Dawn again. He had lost so many allies in the past, but in heaven's name not her too. There was still so much he hadn't told her that he wanted to, like how he thought she was the most perfect girl in the history of time and space.

The Pokémon Master reached into his pocket and pulled out a small present, wrapped in red wrapping paper with green ribbon and a green bow on top. It was almost killing him to know that he would never be able to give this present to her again.

"Merry Christmas Dawn." Red whispered.

**Epilogue**

Dawn had no idea what had happened. Mere moments ago, she was in the middle of a furious clash of the titans in the ruins of the Palace of Light. Antimon were crawling all over the palace and her friends were doing their best to combat them, despite being outnumbered a thousand to one. It was mass chaos, there was little sense behind the relentless violence.

Now she was in the middle of a peaceful garden, filled with large trees, bushes and flowers, backed by a large castle. The sky was clear and bright, not a single cloud could be seen for miles around.

"Where are we Piplup?" Dawn asked her Pokémon companion. Dawn looked at the palace behind her and saw what it was. To her great shock, she was standing in front of the Palace of Light.

"How can that be the palace, we're above ground." Dawn commented to herself.

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of multiple footsteps. In just seconds, Dawn was surrounded by twenty men wearing blue tunics with grey shirts and pants. They wore grey hooded capes and their hands were covered with blue gloves with yellow patterning on them. Dawn recognized them from hieroglyphs on the walls, they were Sacred knights, also known as Aura Guardians.

They had crossbows armed with arrows pointed to Dawn. Panicking Dawn held up her arms and so did Piplup.

"Do not move witch!" One knight demanded, "Or you will perish!"

"Witch, what are you talking about?" Dawn asked in terror.

"You materialize from nowhere and yet you are no magic creature" Another Sacred Knight reasoned, "Clearly a sign of witchcraft!"

"I'm not a witch!" Dawn answered angrily, "I'm a Guardian Priestess!"

"A lie! Every Guardian Priestess is here" A third Sacred Knight objected, "You have never been here before, witch!"

"Then maybe she is one of us." A female voice said from outside the ring of knights. The Sacred Knights moved out of the way to reveal a woman with long black hair and wearing white and red priestess robes.

"As I recall gentlemen, my sisters and I can perform miracles, yet are not witches." The woman explained. She stepped up to Dawn and looked down at her.

"I ask you child, are you one of us, or a servant of the dragon?" She asked Dawn. Dawn was unsure of what she meant by the dragon, but had an idea of who she referred to.

Dawn began piecing together why Dialga sent her here. She had been sent to a world where the Sacred Knights were still alive and the palace was not in ruins. There was only one reason why she was here, to heed Dialga's words. But there was only one way to be sure of her assumptions.

"Before I answer you, I need to ask you a question" Dawn asked, "Who are you?"

The woman was at first reluctant to answer the girl, but she could sense that she could trust this young one. Based on the marks on her hands, she was who she said she was, one of them.

"I am Uraiya, grand empress of the Guardian Priestess'."


End file.
